He's a Pirate
by Megan Sleevewillow
Summary: AU after the Curse of the Black Pearl. Will and Elizabeth married and had a daughter named Ali, but pirates stormed Port Royale and took both Liz and Ali from Will. It doesn't look like he'll ever see them again, but then a certain captain shows up...
1. Christiana Thomas

**Chapter One  
Christiana Thomas**

The night had already ended a few hours ago in the large Port Royale house of Will and Elizabeth Turner. After the entire affair with Captain Jack Sparrow and the cursed pirate gold, Will and Elizabeth were able to marry, and Governor Swann built them a grand house close to the governor's mansion just in time for their daughter Alice, or 'Ali,' to be born. At present, Ali was three years old, and the small family had settled very nicely into their quiet life in Port Royale. Earlier that night, Will had read Ali a bedtime story, Elizabeth rocked her to sleep, and once Ali had been put to bed, her parents soon retired. The house was silent until shortly after midnight when the front door banged open.

The sound caused Elizabeth to bolt upright out of her slumber. She strained her ears and heard voices down below and raucous laughter. She immediately panicked. "Will? Will?" She whispered, shaking her husband awake. He opened his eyes and looked up at her in confusion. "Someone's in the house, Will!" It was then that booming cannon fire sounded out down from the harbor, and with that Will was wide awake and alert.

He looked out their bedroom window and saw that a ship was in the harbor below, firing upon the port. Déjà vu of the last time such an incident had happened made Will's spine shiver. "Stay here." He said, placing both hands on Elizabeth's shoulders. He climbed out of bed and pulled on a shirt over his trouser and his shoes upon his feet. Elizabeth also climbed out of bed and snatched Ali from her crib, shhh-ing her before she had a chance to make a noise.

Will armed himself with a sword, his hatchet, and a pistol from a locked chest at the foot of the bed. "Mummy, what's happening?" Ali asked as she surveyed her father arm himself. Her chocolate eyes were wide in fear and her mousy brown hair marred her vision.

"Darling, it's going to be alright." Will crossed to his wife and child. He ducked down and took one of Ali's hands. "I need you to be brave, understand Ali?" He kissed her hand. "I need you to be brave for me and mummy and stay quiet. Can you do that, darling?" Ali nodded that she could. Will straightened up and looked into his wife's face. "Stay behind me, Elizabeth. Don't do anything brave." He looked into Elizabeth's eyes and kissed her quickly as they heard pounding steps up the staircase. Will turned, his sword brandished and hatchet at the ready. The door burst open and several greasy, dirty bearded pirates entered, their own weapons at the ready.

"Look what we 'ave 'ere, gents." The leading pirate, a man with auburn hair, a bristled beard, and a scar over one eye, cackled. "A nice little family. How sweet!" The others barked with laughter. "Sorry for our intrusion, but we'll be takin' everythin' ye hold dear!"

"Over my dead body!" Will hurled his hatchet through the air and it landed with a squishy thud in one of the pirate's torsos. With that, the pirates charged. Will slashed at the first one, parrying his blow and then kicking him into the other pirates. They fell down like a stack of tipsy china. "Elizabeth! Run!" Will commanded. Elizabeth did not need to be told twice. She knew Will could take care of himself; it was her responsibility to make sure that Ali was safe. She jumped over the fallen pirates just as Ali began to wail in dismay. Elizabeth was just about to head for the staircase when the auburn bearded pirate pulled himself from his fellow pirates and grabbed her by the ankle.

"Hello, girlie." He grinned. He pulled himself up and grabbed Elizabeth by the waist before whipping her around so that she could be used as a shield.

Will climbed over the fallen pirates so that he was no more than five feet away from the pirate and his family. He raised his pistol and pointed it anyway. "Let her go!" He commanded. He did his best so that the pistol would not shake from his nerves. The pirate held everything that was dear to him, and if anything happened to Elizabeth and Ali… He didn't dare to think it.

The pirate pulled out a dagger from his waist and held it to Elizabeth's throat. Her eyes widened in alarm and she looked at Will, pleading for him to do something to help. "You fire and your little wife here dies." The pirate growled. "Do you want your daughter to grow up motherless?" Will slowly lowered his pistol. "That's it, that's it." The pirate started to back up towards the staircase, pulling Elizabeth and Ali with him. "Now if you'll excuse me, I have some business to attend to." The pirate nodded and Will realized too late that he had disregarded the pirates behind him. A pistol butt came crashing down on his skull and he crumpled like a piece of paper to the floor. Before darkness took him, he saw Elizabeth and Ali being pulled down the stairs, his wife screaming his name and Ali crying as hard as she could.

"Elizabeth!" Will shouted. His eyes snapped open, and he bolted upright in bed, his head clipping one of the bedposts on the way up. "Ow!" He cried, and in his disorientation, he fell from his bed to the floor. As he clutched his head, he realized that everything he had just seen had been a dream, at least this time. The dream had happened and had been real, but that was over a year ago when a marauding band of pirates sacked Port Royale and Ali and Elizabeth had been taken from him. Governor Swann had sent Will out on the _Dauntless_ with the Royal Navy to try and find his daughter and granddaughter, but their search was fruitless. Even the offered reward of one thousand sovereigns wasn't enough to bring in any news of where Ali and Elizabeth had gone to. It was as if the two had simply vanished along with the pirates. Governor Swann soon lost hope and the Royal Navy did as well. The ship was called back, and Will couldn't search without a ship, so now every penny he made was saved so that he could hire his own ship and find them, but the wages of a mere blacksmith would not suffice any time soon.

Will stared at the ceiling, thinking of those last moments with Elizabeth. She was scared, and so was Ali, and there had been nothing he could do to comfort him. He sighed heavily and pulled himself to his feet. The once neat and tidy bedroom that he and Elizabeth had shared had fallen into disarray in her absence. Will spent every waking hour in the blacksmith shop and he didn't have it in him to keep the house as Elizabeth would. It would just further serve as a reminder of what he had lost.

Will looked out his window at the traces of dawn on the horizon. It was time to get to work. He washed his face, pulled on a clean shirt over his trousers, and tied his hair back. He pulled on his boots and surveyed the room once more, sadly. His eyes lingered on Ali's empty crib and he sighed. _Enough of that, old boy. There's work to be done_. With that, he headed downstairs and left for the blacksmith's shop.

At that very moment, the _Black Pearl_ was anchored in a cove a few miles from Port Royale. There was activity up on deck, with sails being taken in and the second anchor being dropped as well. Jack was up in the crow's nest, his long glass held to his eye, and accompanied by Gibbs and a young woman who sported brown hair and blue eyes. She was dressed in trousers rolled up to her calves and a man's shirt that had sleeves also rolled up to her elbows. A black and white damask bandana tied her hair back.

"Are ye sure that this is such a good idea, Jack?" Gibbs asked as Jack observed the buildings of Port Royale that could be seen through the long glass.

"I agree with Gibbs, captain." The woman said, her arms crossed. "Are ye sure ye should be goin' there?"

"No, you are." Jack collapsed his long glass and turned to the woman. "After all, **Christiana**, I am a wanted man there."

The woman bristled slightly at use of her proper name. "You're a wanted man everywhere." She replied.

"Well yes." Jack said with a grin. "But, I escaped the gallows there once, and I'm sure that they wouldn't welcome my return in the slightest. With ye and yer chest of disguises, ye can go and retrieve a man for me. After all, being quartermaster of the _Black Pearl_, ye should make a good first impression on our future crewmember. Ye know, since ye were voted into the position and all. Makes ye seem likable."

"Yes, Captain." Chris said, rolling her eyes at the insinuated insult. "That means I have to wear a dress, don't I?"

"Aye." Jack's grin became contagious and spread to Gibbs. It was a widely known fact on board that, though Chris carried a chest full of clothing to use as disguises in enemy ports, she did not in any way enjoy wearing a dress.

"You're both thoroughly enjoying this, aren't you?" She asked her captain and first mate, her arms crossed.

Jack looked at Gibbs and they both chuckled. "Of course. You better get dressed, my little blossom, you have a bit of a walk ahead of you." Jack grabbed a line to zip down to the deck. "Oh, and I suggest ye don't wear anything with heels in way of footwear." He grinned at her before sliding down to the deck.

Chris sighed and looked towards Port Royale. Gibbs grinned at her. "Ye know Jack just likes to give you a hard time."

"Aye, that I know very well." Chris shook her head. She and Gibbs crossed to the line that Jack took. "See you down there, then." Chris said before zipping to the deck.

TING! TING! TING!

The sun had arced upwards in the sky as Will hammered away at the commissioned sword he had been working for the past week. The blade glowed red and sweat dripped from Will's face onto the sword, making little sizzling noises. There was a slight knock on the door, which the blacksmith thought odd, for no one ever knocked before entering his forge. "Come in." He called, dipping the sword into a trough of water to cool it.

A woman entered, looking rather uncomfortable as she did. Her chestnut hair was pinned up and stuff beneath a hat that was tied about her chin, and Will could see that she was stepping gingerly in her heeled boots. Will grabbed his handkerchief from the back pocket of his trousers and wiped the sweat from his face. "Can I help you, miss?" It was odd for a lone female to be interested in the services of a blacksmith.

"I certainly hope so." She crossed to him and spread a shaky curtsy. She rose, discomfort on her face. "I'm looking for William Turner. I was told that this was his forge."

"Technically, it's Mr. Brown's." Jack and Chris looked over to the bearded blacksmith that lay upon several sandbags in the corner, snoring. "But I am William Turner." Will wiped his hands on the handkerchief and offered his hand for a shake. "Interested in a sword?" He asked with a slight smile.

The woman shook his hand and smiled. "Alas, no. I have a right deadly rapier, but I've heard of the excellence of your craft." Will raised his eyebrows at her and she said, "Oh yes. Introductions and all that… My name is Christiana Thomas and I am the quartermaster of the _Black Pearl_." Will dropped the handkerchief in surprise.

"It's a pleasure." He stuttered. "But exactly what do you want with me?"

Chris smiled. "Our mutual friend, Captain Jack Sparrow, asked that I come into port and ask if you would be interested in signing onto the _Black Pearl_."


	2. The Black Pearl

**Chapter Two  
The Black Pearl**

"Jack wants me to sign on? As a sailor?" Will asked, surprised. Jack hadn't even sailed for Will for a good stretch of time, and Will was quite certain he was a better blacksmith than sailor.

"Yes." Chris took in a deep breath and pulled at the constricting bodice of her dress before continuing on. "We're going after a treasure, and before we set out, he wanted to come here and see if you would sign on. The profits from the hunt would surely make you able to buy your own shop." She surveyed the snoring Mr. Brown and continued, "He also said something to the effect that he owed you one."

Will eyed her skeptically. "Why didn't he come to see me in the first place?" He asked. He certainly wouldn't put it past Jack to be able to sneak into port. He was, after all Captain Jack Sparrow.

"As he put it to me, he escaped the gallows here and wouldn't be a welcome person at all, so he sent me since I have never been to this port before." She grinned. "He also wanted to see me in a dress. Dodgy bloke, that Jack…"

Will weighed the options. He could stay here and slave away in Brown's smith, or he could sail with Jack and wrangle up enough treasure to be able to buy a ship and find Elizabeth and Ali. "Give me an hour to pack and make sure things will be taken care of in my absence." Will said.

Chris grinned. "Done."

An hour later, Will slung the bag that contained a few sets of spare clothes and his weapons onto his back and exited his home. After leaving a note for Mr. Brown that he was leaving and didn't expect to be back any time soon, and sending a letter with similar wording to Governor Swann, he and Chris left the smithy and went to his house. Now that he was packed, he turned and locked the door to the house and hid the key underneath a rock near the door. He turned to Chris, who had sat upon the steps into the house and had removed her shoes. "I'm ready." Will told her.

"Lovely." Chris slipped her feet into her boots and groaned as she stood. "We have quite a bit of a walk ahead of us, mate. I hope you're in shape." She and Will then set off for the path that led to the cove where the _Black Pearl_ was anchored. They walked past the docks, past the governor's mansion, and up into the hills of the outskirts of Port Royale. By the time they had gotten that far, Chris was hobbling like a horse with a thrown shoe. She stopped them long enough to pull the boots from her feet.

"Aren't those a bit impractical for hiking anyway?" Will asked, his brow raised.

"Aye, they are." Chris nodded in exasperation. "I usually go barefoot, but I had to wear shoes into port. I think Jack hid my normal boots." She picked her shoes up and stood, stretching her now bare toes onto the dirt path. "Much better. Come on." They followed the path down to the cove where the _Black Pearl_ rested gently on the water, looking as picturesque as ever.

"Oi! Jack!" Chris let out a whistle she and Will came to the shoreline. A jolly boat was beached on the sand, waiting for them. "Success!" Chris called across the water and pointed to the man beside her. Will watched as Jack walked to the bulkhead and waved. Will and Chris shoved the jolly boat into the water and jumped in. Each took an oar and they were broadside the _Black Pearl_ in no time. Once the jolly boat had been winched up to the deck, Jack greeted them both. He offered his hand to Chris, but she ignored it. She pulled herself from the boat and said, "I'll be down in my cabin changing, captain." With that she trotted below to change into her trousers.

Jack laughed as Will climbed out of the boat. "That Chris there won't let any man treat her like a lady. Learned that the hard way." He touched his jaw, as he recalled the memory before turning to Will and clapping him on the back. "So how have you been farin', Will?" he asked. "How's Liz?" Will shook his head and said nothing. "Ah, I see. Well, go ahead and get cozy, lad. Anamaria'll assign yer watches later."

Will let out a heavy side and climbed the stairs to the bridge, passed the wheel, and continued to the bulkhead rising before the rudder. He let his bag sink to the deck as he leaned on the railing and sighed. Why didn't he tell Jack? He raked his hands through his hair. He'd have to tell Jack eventually, but not now… Not so close to Port Royale…

Chris emerged from below, tying her rather long shirttails in a knot so that they wouldn't get caught on anything. She looked about and saw Jack tapping his chin in thought and looking aft. She followed his eyes and saw Will hunched over at the bulkhead. "What's the matter with him?" Chris asked. "Did ye say somethin' to vex him?"

Jack shrugged. "Just asked him 'ow his girl was. She must have left 'im. Never took Liz for anything but monogamous." Jack turned to Cotton at the helm and those in the top. "Let out the mainsail! Prepare to make way!" With that, Chris climbed into the top and Jack went to the helm, taking it from Cotton. Once the _Black Pearl_ was away from Port Royale and the watch changed, Chris looked down and saw that Will was still leaning against the bulkhead. She dropped from the top down behind him and joined him at the rail.

"We'll be stopping in Tortuga next, if ye're looking to drown your sorrows or… anything." Chris said, turning to look at him.

"Thanks." He murmured. He had watched as Port Royale slowly shrank from sigh before disappearing altogether. Even though there was nothing there for him anymore, it had been his home for more than a decade. He and Elizabeth had married and made a home there. It was where Ali had been born, where she had taken her first steps, and where she had said her first word. He never wanted to return again if Ali and Elizabeth were not with him. A tear slowly make its way from his eye and dripped down his cheek.

Chris noticed. "'ey." She leaned over and wiped the tear off with her sleeve. "You all right Will? Ye're not getting seasick, are ye?"

Will shook his head yes, then no. He should have told Jack, he should have told him. He didn't know Chris, but he felt this sudden need to tell someone, anyone what had happened. If he didn't tell someone, his chest was going to explode. "My wife, Elizabeth and my daughter Ali were captured by pirates one year ago." He said softly. "We searched the seas, but we didn't find them. I-I just can't ever get them out of my head... And watching Port Royale sink from sight, knowing they're not there, knowing that I don't ever want to return there without them…" The tears were now fully fledged. He angrily wiped them away and then covered his face with his arm. Chris, not having too much experience dealing with crying people, and not knowing William Turner extraordinarily well, did what she thought was a comforting pat on the back. Will sniffed and ran a hand under his nose. He stared blankly at the horizon, not saying another word.

Chris heard the deck creak behind her and looked over her shoulder. She saw Jack standing there, his face a mask of sorrow. He had heard the entire thing. He beckoned for Chris to come to him. As Chris' hand lifted from Will's back, he looked back and locked eyes with the pirate captain. Jack nodded in understanding as Chris crossed to him. Will looked back to the sea and Jack put an arm around Chris, ushering her away from the man. "Come on love. Bein' alone right now is the best thing for him."

Later that night, the gangplank was lowered at Tortuga and half the crew was given shore leave. Chris and Jack disembarked, and as they hit the pier, Will joined them. "You sure you're up for it, eh?" Jack asked, grinning. "Last time we were here, I don't recall ye being too keen on Tortuga's numerous attractions."

"Well, there's a first time for everything." Will said, grinning at Chris and the captain.

Jack put an arm around Chris and Will. "Tonight will be a night you will not forget my dear sir and fair lady. Tonight is the night you will always remember as the night you made merry with Captain Jack Sparrow!"

"'Fair lady?' Lord, I need a drink." Chris sighed, her eyes closed in exasperation. Jack let out a booming laugh and led the woman and man to his favorite tavern, the Faithful Bride. The crowd inside had not lessened in rambunctiousness since Will had previously been there, but it was relatively mild tonight. There were no knife fights and few brawls. Jack procured four mugs of rum, two for himself, and one each for Will and Chris. The three sat down at a table and Jack promptly downed the first mug of rum in three gulps before beginning to slowly nurse the second one. Will sipped his hesitantly, not really wanting to get drunk and pass out in Tortuga. Anything could happen to an unconscious man in the pirate port, and Will didn't want to test the possibilities.

"I wish they'd keep whiskey on hand." Chris mentioned as she accepted her rum.

"Well if ye don't want it, I'll take it." Jack said, reaching for the drink.

"I didn't say I didn't want it." Chris replied, pulling it from his grasp.

Will zoned out as the back and forth continued between Jack and Chris. He observed the room as he sipped his rum. He saw the ladies of the night working their charms, several card games going, and a brawl that was coming close to its end. As his eyes continued to roam, he suddenly saw something that made him choke on his rum.

"All right there Will?" Chris asked, thumping his back to help clear his airway.

Will rubbed his eyes and stared at the little girl that had entered the tavern. She looked so much like… But no, it couldn't be… But it **must **be, she had Elizabeth's hair and Will's eyes, and she looked just like her, except older. "Chris, Jack… Ali is here."


	3. Ali

**Chapter Three  
Ali**

Chris looked at Will with confusion on her face. "What? ...Ali? Your daughter?" She asked. She looked at Jack and they both looked to Will.

He didn't answer her question. He threw back his chair made his way through the crowd, his eye trained on her as he crossed the tavern. The girl had walked to a table full of bearded, filthy men and one of them was the auburn bearded pirate with the scar across his eye. Will's fists clenched in anger at the very sight of the man who had taken his family from him. Ali spoke some words to the pirate and he stood from his table, said some words to the men sitting there, and then he and the girl headed for the rear exit of the Faithful Bride. Will followed them and stayed in the shadows, watching their every movement. He slipped through the door just before it closed and found himself in an ill-lit alley. He ducked behind a pyramid of barrels and watched as the pirate turned to Ali and said something to her. He could not hear what his words were exactly, but Ali responded indistinctly. The pirate raised his hand and backhanded the little girl so hard that she was knocked off of her feet.

"YOU DIRTY BASTARD!" Will exploded. He bolted from his hiding place and crossed to the pirate in the blink of an eye. Before the other could think anything, Will socked him in the face. The man reeled back, and Will turned to Ali, who was laying on the ground sobbing. He kneeled beside her and hesitated to touch her. Could this really be his lost daughter? "There now," He placed a hand upon her and she looked up at him. He inhaled sharply. She was, without a doubt, Ali. Those pleading brown eyes, that quivering chin… It was her.

The pirate had meanwhile recovered and now towered over Will. "What's in yer head boy? That's my niece there." He growled as he brandished a pistol and pointed it at Will's head.

Will stared down the pistol's barrel with no fear. "No she isn't! She's **MY** daughter!" He had lost her once to this man, he would be damned if he was going to let that happen again.

The pirate's eyes glittered with realization. "Ah, so it's you." He whispered. "Never thought I'd see ye again." The pirate cocked the flint of his pistol. "And now I won't." A gunshot rang through the air, but Will was surprised that his face was still intact. He looked up and saw that blood had bloomed from the pirate's chest. He staggered backward, the pistol falling from his hand. Will looked behind him to the rear exit and saw that Chris stood there, a pistol smoking in her hand. Jack poked his head out behind her and then the pair crossed to Will. Jack looked at the quivering heap of child on the ground and Chris walked to the bleeding pirate. She placed a foot upon his chest and drew her dagger, hunching down to hold it to his throat.

"Will, ye sure know how to ruin a good time." Jack grumbled. Will ignored him as Chris spoke.

"Thank God we followed you, Will." Chris said, looking to the bleeding man that lay under her foot. "This is John Malcolm, Will… He's basically the head pirate around Tortuga. He's been pillaging and raiding the Caribbean since before I could walk."

The man grinned and then coughed up blood. "I see my reputation precedes me." He wheezed.

"I'm not with them." Jack said, backing away from Will.

Will lifted up the sobbing Ali, who lay in his arms like a bag of flour. He looked John Malcolm in the face and asked, "Now that I have my daughter, where is my wife?"

The pirate smiled, then grunted and coughed. "She's dead!" He spat triumphantly. "She was like a horse with too much spirit. It isn't worth breakin' 'em, you just put them down!"

The fury in Will's eyes was terrifying. He trembled with such rage that Ali shook as though cold. "You – You –"Was all he could let out in his furor.

"Jack, you should make sure that Will and her get back to the ship safely. When Malcolm doesn't return to his table, his men will come looking for him, and we best not be here when they find his body." Chris said.

"Remember who makes the orders, Chris." Jack said before taking Will by the arm. "Make sure you get back to the ship, and gather as many as ye can before ye get there. We make sail within the hour. Come on, mate."

Will and Jack turned and exited the alley, not paying any attention to what may or may not have happened between the two people behind them. As they joined a throng of people and Jack started picking out sailors from the _Black Pearl_ from the crowd, Ali rubbed her eyes and looked up into Will's face. Her voice quivered with fear. "Are you gonna hit me too?"

"I would never do anything like that." Will said, his voice wavering. He tucked a stray piece of hair behind her ear. "Don't you remember me?"

Ali shook her head. "No."

A tear ran down Will's cheek as he looked down at his daughter. "Don't you remember where you used to live with your mum and dad?"

"In a house... by water." She said. Her face was screwed up in thought, and then it seemed as though she did realize Will. She reached up and grabbed the collar of his shirt. "Oh daddy, Poppa John said that you didn't want me anymore. He said that you and mummy gave me to him because you were mad at me."

Will was crying freely now. He had his daughter back, but Elizabeth... she was dead… He breathed in a long, shuddering lungful of air. "I was never mad at you, darling. He took you away from me and I tried to find you darling, I did. And now I have."

Ali looked up at him. "I missed you, daddy." She said.

"Oh, I missed you too darling." Will lifted her up to him and hugged her tightly before drawing her away so he could look in her face. "It's you and me now."

"What about mummy?" Ali asked.

Will sighed. "Don't worry about that now, darling."

Jack returned, an inebriated Gibbs on his arm and some slightly sauced pirates with him. "Come on; let's get back to the _Pearl_."

By the time Will, Jack, Ali, and the rest of the crew arrived at the _Black Pearl_, Chris was already there and making sail with the aid of Marty and Anamaria. Jack said, "Good work, ladies and Marty! Heave to and make sail, mates!" Jack commanded, propping Gibbs against the door of the captain's cabin. Gibbs' eyes focused on the small girl in Will's arms.

"Bloody Hell! It's a kid, Jack! A miniature female! More bad luck." Gibbs said.

"Gibbs, beggin' yer pardon, but –" Jack took the rum bottle that Gibbs held in his hands and smashed it over his head. Ali jumped as Gibbs sank to the deck. Chris arched an eyebrow at Jack and he said, "What? We don't need him scarin' the little lass, do we? And he's no use drunk." Chris blinked at him and Jack rolled his eyes. "Clean up the glass and get him to his hammock, I'll take care of things up here." His quartermaster nodded and knelt down to heave Gibbs to his feet and then drag him below.

Jack looked at Will and Ali, who was peeking hesitantly from her father's arms. Jack winked at Will and swept his hat from his head in a bow. "Hello, Miss Turner. Welcome aboard the _Black Pearl_, I am Captain Jack Sparrow and I am at your service." Ali's cheeks turned red and she buried her face in her father's shoulder. "A shy one you have there, Will." Jack grinned, plopped his hat back on his head, and climbed the stairs to the wheel.

Chris emerged from below, a brush and dust pan in her hand. As she brushed the shards of glass into the pan and threw them over the side, she turned to Will and said, "You and Ali can sleep in my cabin tonight. I'll sleep with the crew." She swept the rest of the shards into the pan and chucked them overboard before stowing the brush and pan beneath the stairs leading to the wheel. "Captain, do you need me at the moment?" She called to the dreadlocked man at the helm.

"Get them settled, love, and worry about your duties later." Jack replied just as the _Black Pearl_ began tendering away from the pier. The gangplank was drawn up and stowed, and the sails filled with wind.

"Follow me, Will." She led the father and daughter down the stairs into the forecastle and to a small cabin. As she lit a lantern that hung in the middle of the room, Will was able to survey that there was a writing desk with a small mirror hanging above it just out of the door's reach, a bed, a screen for dressing, and an open chest sat at the foot of the bed with dresses and trousers hanging out of it. Chris picked up the stray articles of clothing and shoved them into the chest before snapping it closed. "Apologies, I never have guests." She said. She turned to Will and Ali and said, "The sheets are fairly clean and if ye need anything to eat, the galley is only one deck above." Chris stood as though awaiting orders as Will pulled the sheets of the bed back and lay Ali there, kneeling to be at the same eye level as she.

"Are you tired, darling?" Will asked. She yawned in agreement. "Go ahead and sleep, sweetheart. You're safe here." He tucked Ali in, something that he relished doing for the first time in a year. Within minutes, Ali's breathing deepened and she was asleep. Will couldn't contain himself anymore. That morning he had woken in Port Royale, nothing but a destitute future with little hope ahead of him, and tonight he had tucked his daughter into bed. Once again, his eyes shed tears. He had his daughter, but he would never again see his wife alive.

"Mate, hey mate…" Chris crossed to Will and placed a hand upon his shoulder, kneeling to look in his face. "What's wrong? Ye've got Ali back, she's safe now."

"But my wife…" He whispered. Chris set her lips in a thin line and nodded grimly.

"I know I don't know her, mate, but wouldn't she want you and Ali to go on with your lives?" Chris asked softly.

"I suppose so." Will admitted.

Chris patted Will on the back. "Get some rest, mate. Ye'll need it." She stood and went to the door. "If ye need anything… I think Jack and I have a long night ahead of us." With that, she exited, closing the door behind her. She returned to the main deck just in time to hear a faint popping noise and then a splash. She looked aft and saw a plume of smoke from a ship still in Tortuga's harbor. The _Black Pearl_ had been fired upon!

Chris ran up the stairs to the helm just as Jack yelled, "They're trying to blow holes in my ship!"

"It's one of Malcolm's ships, isn't it?" Chris asked.

"That or the king's Navy." Jack grumbled. "Get in the top, make sure the sails take every scrap of wind they can." Chris grabbed a line to climb into the top, but Jack stopped her. "Did you leave Malcolm alive, Chris?" Jack asked.

"I'm not a cold-blooded murderer, Jack." Chris said coldly. "He bled to death before I left him. And someone probably saw me leave the alley." She gazed off to the ship following them. Jack nodded at her and she continued up the line and into the top.

"_We're devils and blackguards and really bad eggs_…" Jack sang under his breath as he turned the wheel. He looked behind at the ship, which was leaving the harbor in pursuit. "_Drink up me hearties, yo ho_."


	4. Lord Malcolm

**Chapter Four  
Lord Malcolm**

Will's eyes fluttered open the next morning. He and Ali had shared Chris' bed the night before, and in the night the girl had snuggled into her father's chest and one of her thumbs found its way into her mouth. Will smiled softly as he surveyed her. He and Elizabeth had tried to break her of the habit of thumb-sucking before the pirates came to Port Royale. He brushed a wisp of Ali's hair from her face and saw that the backhand had given Ali a bruise at her brow. His own brow furrowed and his heart ached for her. Will didn't know what other abuses she had suffered over the year, but he still couldn't believe he had his daughter back at last. Even if he couldn't have Elizabeth back as well, he had Ali, and she would always have a part of Elizabeth in her. That was something. A tear worked its way from his lids and fell upon Ali's cheek. It woke her.

"Daddy, what's the matter?" Ali asked, wiping the tear from her face.

Will sighed. "I just miss your mother, darling." He looked at her with sad eyes and a heavy heart.

"I thought that one lady was my mummy. They have the same color hair." Ali said.

Will sighed sadly. "No, that's Chris. She's a friend of ours."

"Where is mummy?" Ali asked.

"She's gone, darling."

"Where can we find her?" Ali whispered.

Will sighed heavily and ran a thumb over her cheek. "I don't know, sweetheart."

Suddenly, Jack burst in through the door. "Chris, I-" He paused as he saw Will and Ali. "Oh. My apologies, I thought she was in here." His gaze lingered on Ali for a moment and then he laughed. "Ha! Living proof you aren't a eunuch!" He exclaimed. He bowed to Ali and Will and then backed out of the room and closed the door.

As he headed for the stairwell, Gibbs stumbled from the hold where he had slept and groaned. "Captain… Did someone hit me on the head last night?" He asked Jack.

Jack paused and his mustache twitched. "No, why?" He asked.

"My head is killin' me and I have a lump right 'ere." He rubbed the back of his head and groaned.

"Funny ol' world, innit?" Jack asked. The sudden ringing of the bell on deck immediately drew their attention. They scrambled up the stairwell and saw that Chris' hand was upon the lanyard to the bell and she continued to ring it furiously. Cotton was at the helm, and Chris turned to her captain and first mate.

"We have a problem." She gestured behind them. All three ran to the port side, leaned over, and looked aft. Behind them was not only the single ship from last night, but two others. The pirates of the _Black Pearl_ milled about the deck, heeding the call to quarters.

Jack closed his eyes and gritted his teeth. "Bollocks." He opened his eyes and turned to Gibbs. "Go below deck, prepare the cannons, and send Will up." Gibbs nodded and headed below. Jack turned to Chris. As quartermaster, she would be the one to lead the boarding party if – **when** the _Black Pearl_ attacked. Now it seemed that the _Pearl_ was more likely to be boarded. "Chris, get the crew ready to fight. Spare no weapons, no ammunition." At that moment a huge and resounding **BOOM** issued through the air and the impact of the following cannonball knocked Chris into Jack. He righted her and asked, "Alright there?" She nodded. "Do as I said." He said before climbing up the stairs to the helm.

Will emerged from below decks, his daughter clinging to him. He passed by Chris and went to say something, but she stopped him. "Not now. I'd get her somewhere safe if I were you." With that, she continued on her way. Will looked to see the pursuing ships and blanched. There was another boom as Chris pulled a trunk full of weapons onto the deck, and the passing cannonball just missed going through her spine. She did not stop to think about it; there was work to do.

Will looked up to Jack and asked, "What should I do?" Ali began shivering with tears as more explosions sounded and splinters flew into the air.

"Take her below and do what you can with the cannon!" Jack commanded, the wheel spinning in his grasp. "This is no place for a girl!"

"Speak for yourself, captain!" Anamaria called from the top.

The enemy ships slowly circled the _Black Pearl_ until two of them were broadside, one to port and the other starboard, and the last swooped in before the _Pearl_'s bow broadside. "Lower the anchors!" Jack yelled. If they collided with the ship, the _Pearl_ was done for, and Jack would rather take his chances with cannon fire. Marty threw the switch on the capstan and the first anchor throttled into the water, followed closely by the second. The _Pearl_ lurched to a halt. The other ships quickly threw grappling hooks and planks across, and when the enemy pirates boarded, Anamaria and Chris met them on both sides.

They fought as furiously as they could, but outmanned three to one was barely competition. Chris' rapier was knocked her grasp, but she would not give up that easily. She hurled herself onto the man who disarmed her and knocked his sword aside before beating him with her fists. It took five men to haul her off of the poor bloke, and they held her to the deck. That did not stop her tongue, though, and to try and quell her prattling, a sailor tried to gag her. He received a deep bite that drew blood. Several men did their best to gag Chris, eventually succeeding, while those below were disarmed and brought above, Will and Ali among them. Their hands were bound behind their backs and each sailor of the _Black Pearl_ was lined up on the deck. Ali was wracked with sobs as she was separated from Will, her hands bound. Chris was down the line from Will, and Jack even further down looking very put out.

A man in his thirties with black hair, dark eyes, and a pinched face boarded the _Black Pearl _from the largest of the pursuing ships. He wore a large gold-trimmed tricorn and was not very tall. Chris felt as though she knew him from somewhere. He observed the line of pirates and silently pointed to Will and Chris. Will was shoved forward and Chris was dragged. There was a small quibble about who would remove her gag before the man spoke.

"Which one of you killed John Malcolm?" He asked. Will and Chris looked at each other, but said nothing. "Answer me! Which one of you killed John Malcolm?" They were still silent. The vein in the man's forehead was throbbing as he roared, "ANSWER ME RIGHT NOW OR **SO HELP ME I WILL **–"

"What? Kill us? Cut out our tongues?" Chris sneered. "Then you wouldn't be getting too much out of us, would you?" The man turned to stare at her hard, and she glared back at him with brazen eyes. He crossed to where she knelt.

The man bent down and grabbed her by the hair, pulling her up so that their faces were so close she could see the roof of his mouth as he talked. "No. If you don't tell me what I want to know, I will kill every one of your crewmates, starting with that little lass." He pull his pistol from his waistband, cocked it, and aimed for Ali. She trembled and sputtered in fear.

Chris breathed in and said, "I shot him when he tried to shoot that man." She nodded towards Will. "He bled out in the alley before I left. It was all me. Satisfied?"

"Oh yes indeed." He took the bead of his pistol off of Ali and then pointed it at Chris. "Now I know who to kill for my father's murder." Will lunged forward, but someone grabbed him by his bound hands before he could do anything else. Jack had also pitched forward, but didn't get very far. Their efforts caught the man's attention. "Hmm. Ship's whore?" He asked.

"Just because ye have to pay for your women doesn't mean that they do." Chris growled. "And I am not for sale."

The man looked down his nose at her. "You should watch your tongue, woman."

"And ye should just accept your father's rightful death and sod off!"

A man from man's crew stepped forward and slapped her across the face. "You do not talk like that to Edward Malcolm, wench!"

"Edward Malcolm?" She replied. "**Lord** Edward Malcolm?" She suddenly looked distraught and disturbed.

"Ah, so you have heard of me." Lord Malcolm grinned and shoved his pistol into his belt. "May I inquire your name before I run you through?"

"I have a way to solve this!" Jack said suddenly. "You let us go, and… I will give you ten percent of all my plunder!" He strained against his bound.

Lord Malcolm frowned. "See, this is not the way I like to solve things. I like to things to end in blood." He pulled a dagger from his belt and raised it to Chris' neck.


	5. Consequences

**Chapter Five  
Consequences**

With a sudden movement, Jack quickly elbowed his captor in the stomach, whirled around and brought his forehead to bear against the other man's. They both groaned and reeled backward after the hit. Jack recovered first and pulled one hand from his bounds, whipping it forward to grab the pistol his former captor's belt. He brought the handle down upon the man's head and he fell backwards in unconsciousness.

Jack cocked the pistol, turned about, and pointed it right at Malcolm's head. "I'm afraid that I can't let you do that." Malcolm's blade stopped at the flesh of Chris' throat. The decks of all four ships were silent except for the sound of Jack's boots clicking against the deck as he walked forward. His crew pulled themselves from their captors and worked on their bounds as Jack came to halt just a few feet from Malcolm. No one dared to breathe.

Jack put the pistol to the side of Malcolm' head. "Let her go." He said, his finger on the trigger. Malcolm did nothing. Jack's finger tightened on the trigger. "If you don't let her go right now, you may be able to cut her throat and she may survive, but I'm pretty sure you won't survive a bullet to the head!" He snapped. Slowly, Malcolm lowered his arm and released Chris' hair. She snatched the dagger from Malcolm's hand and slapped the man across the face. Her face was nothing but a mask of anger as she now held Malcolm's own dagger to his throat.

"Well, well, well, Sparrow." Malcolm said in a hushed voice. "You've found yourself in a bit of a situation here." A slow grin spread across his face, despite a pistol being held at his temple and a blade at his throat. "Don't you know how many men I have left in those other ships? And your boat is taking on water." He nodded. "Shoot him."

A gunshot rang through the air and Jack's pistol clattered to the deck. A spot of blood bloomed on his breast and he fell backward. "Jack!" Chris slashed at Malcolm haphazardly. The blade sliced his face and he let out a cry and fell backwards. Chris fell to her knees at Jack's side, the dagger clattering to the deck. She placed a hand on either side of his face. "Jack! Oh Jack, please…"

Will crawled forward, his hands still bound. "Chris, cut my bonds!" He bade. Chris snatched the dagger from where it fell and sliced the bonds of Will cleanly. She stuck the dagger into the deck before turning her attention back to Jack. Will brought his hands forward just as Malcolm stood; clutching his bloodied face, and drew his sword. Will grabbed the dagger from where it was stuck and weakly deflected a blow from the sword. He struggled to his feet and brandished the dagger at Malcolm as he heard commotion behind him. Ali stood alone and confused as crewmembers of the _Black Pearl_ loosed themselves and grabbed their weapons from the piles they had been thrown in and with battle cries they began fighting against Malcolm's men, determined to drive the enemies from the _Pearl_. In all the commotion, no one noticed when one of Malcolm's men snatched Ali from the deck, hoisted her over his shoulder, and swung across to one of the other ships.

Will picked up a dropped sword from one of Malcolm's men as he retreated from Malcolm's slashes. He pulled his arm back and hurled the dagger at Malcolm, but it landed with the handle, not the blade. Malcolm let out a short chuckle, his face still bleeding from Chris' slash. "I'm going to enjoy killing you almost as much as I'm going to enjoy killing that bitch." He growled before lunging wildly at Will. Will parried the blow and continued stepping backwards as Malcolm slashed and hacked at him.

Chris held onto Jack in the ensuing chaos. She bent over Jack as a pirate was driven towards the two. The pirate stumbled over Chris' hunched form and hit the deck, hard. Chris knew she needed to get Jack to some sort of cover. She thrust her hands under his arms and drug him to the cover of the stairs leading to the wheel. She looked down and saw that Jack's eyes were fluttering. "No! Jack, stay with me!" She slapped him across the face and he groaned. The bullet was high on his chest. Chris hoped that it didn't pierce his lung. There was only one way to find out. She ripped Jack's shirt open and wiped the excess blood away with her hand. A round spot on Jack's chest immediately darkened and Chris knew where the bullet had entered. She sucked in a breath and stuck her fingers into the wound.

"Ahh! Ahh, bloody –!"That certainly made Jack awake and alert. He tried to shove his quartermaster off as her fingers dove deeper into the wound. Her fingertips hit something solid, and pinching her thumb and forefinger together, Chris plucked the bullet from Jack's chest and let it hit the deck. It rolled away and Chris' fingers dove in once more. "It's out, Chris, it's out!" Jack cried. Chris ignored him and felt that, no; the bullet did not pass through his rib cage or his lungs. She breathed a sigh of relief and bundled Jack's now ruined shirt and pressed it against the wound in an attempt to stem the bleeding.

Will and Malcolm had made it up to the bridge of the ship. Malcolm had entirely ignored the slash across his cheek, or perhaps he used it to fuel his swings. He slashed with even more ferocity as the blood dribbled down his face. He didn't even move to wipe it away as he advanced towards Will. Will could tell that the lord was tiring as the two circled each other with the wheel in the center. Will made his move too early in a jab that missed Malcolm but stuck in the wheel's base. He quickly pulled it out and ducked as Malcolm's blade sliced the air where his head had just been. Malcolm growled. "Hadn't had a challenge like this for a long time. I'll enjoy running you through." And with that he lunged for Will's abdomen.

Back beneath the stairs, Jack was breathing hard, despite the absence of lead in his body. "Oh Hell, Chris, why didn't you give me some rum?" He asked as she propped him up against the wooden door to his cabin.

"Does it look like I can give you rum?!" She asked as she heard a cry from the bridge above. Jack was taken care of for now; she needed to help get Malcolm's sorry louts off of the _Pearl_. "I'll be back, Jack." She said, squeezing his hand. She stood and crossed to a fallen pirate, taking the sword from his body. It was no rapier, but it would do. Chris mounted the stairs to the bridge and beheld a sight she did not expect.

Will was clutching his side and Malcolm's blade was bloody. "Time to die!" Malcolm cackled, raising his sword to stab Will through the heart. Chris bolted, her sword swinging through the air as she ran, and the two collided. They fell to the deck, Malcolm's sword skidding from his hands and over the side of the _Pearl_. He raised a fist and socked Chris in the face. Her head snapped backward and he swiped her sword. He stood but on reflection, he grabbed the dazed Chris by the hair and began dragging her towards the staircase. "Back to the ships! Back to the ships!" His words rang out loud and clear as Chris clawed at his hand, trying to crane her head so that she might get a chance to bite him. Her efforts went unheeded and he threw her down the stairs. She hit the deck hard and thought she could get away, but he was right behind her. Malcolm grabbed her by the back of the shirt and hauled her over one of the planks and onto his ship.

Jack watched this slumped against his cabin door. He couldn't just sit there and let this happen. "**NO!** Chris!" He pulled himself to his feet with a groan, his bundled up shirt falling from his chest and blood streaming from the wound. He pulled a pistol off the same man Chris had taken the sword from and aimed at Malcolm as he kicked the plank from the gap between the two ships. Jack's hand trembled and he fired. Instead of hitting Malcolm, it ended the life of one of his crewmembers. Jack pulled the trigger again, but of course the shot fired had been the only shot. "Chris!" Malcolm's men were fast. Almost as though by divine providence, the grappling hooks had been cut and the planks fell away as all three ships left the _Black Pearl_. Will hobbled down from the bridge and he and Jack watched as Malcolm sailed away, leaving the _Black Pearl_ sinking, and all aboard worse for the wear.


	6. Captives

**Chapter Six  
Captives**

"We have to go after them! **WE HAVE TO**!" Jack bellowed. He was shirtless, bleeding, and had turned a startling shade of white, but it was as if he had been untouched when one looked at the fire that was burning in his eyes. "All heave to and make sail!" He cried, turning too quickly and stumbling.

Will caught him and held him steady as he spoke directly to him. "Jack! The _Pearl_ is sinking. We can't sail after them unless we want to die at the hands of the sea." Will said this with regret. Chris had played a key part in him getting Ali back, and… Ali! His expression turned to one of fear. "Ali… where's Ali?!" He released Jack and whipped his head around frantically, searching the deck for his daughter.

There was a funny little laughing sound from one of the dying men lying on the deck. He choked and grunted. "She's back with Captain Malcolm!" He coughed. "My money is that ye'll never see here again!"

Will lunged at the man and picked him up by his shirt, his fist pulled back in preparation to punch him with all his strength. The man laughed and made another choking sound before he released a long breath and was still. Will let out a tortured yell and threw the man back to the deck. Jack watched this silently. _I could still make a pirate of him yet…_ Jack brushed the thought away. There were more important things to deal with. The first was getting the _Black Pearl_ into sailing order. He looked up to see his crewmembers that had survived watching him. "Get the bodies off the deck!" He ordered. "Anamaria, Marty, get below and start working the pumps! Cotton, make sure we have enough hot tar to patch the ship's bottom!" He looked at the largest of the retreating ships. "We have a ship to catch."

"You're bloody mad, Jack!" Anamaria said. "Ship repair at sea with naught but pumps and hot tar to help us? Chris is a good sailor and a good pirate, and I'm sorry about Will's daughter, Jack, but the plan is daft! We don't even have enough men to go against Malcolm if he was able to gather three ships at the drop of a hat."

Jack turned to her. He looked a rather fearsome sight, ashen and streaked with blood. "That sounded suspiciously like you were questioning my orders, Anamaria!" He growled. "Remind me when we obtain our quartermaster to have her dole out your punishment." Anamaria's lips parted in disbelief. Jack looked at his crew and asked, "Am I the only one with ears on this ship?" Immediately, the sailors of the _Black Pearl_ moved to follow his orders. He flinched as he headed for the stairwell and then his legs gave out beneath him. Gibbs and Will rushed forward to help him back to his feet.

"You need your rest, captain." Gibbs said. "No man should be walkin' around after takin' a bullet to the chest!"

"Duly noted, Mr. Gibbs, but I need to ensure my ship is in working order." Jack replied, taking a shaky step.

"Marty is the carpenter, let him deal with it, Jack!" Gibbs bade his captain.

"He's right, Jack, you need a doctor. You're bleeding." Will said, his eye upon the still bleeding bullet wound. His own side was still bleeding, but after inspecting it, he discovered it was just a superficial cut to the skin. He'd be fine.

"Chris was the closest thing we had to a doctor. Shall I call for her?" Jack snapped. "If it bothers you so much, I'll fix it." He went to the stairwell in the forecastle with determination and entered the galley, Gibbs and Will behind him. The cooking fire had continued to burn through everything that had happened, but the poker had been nudged into the coals in the haste to join the fighting. The tip of the poker glowed red hot. Without a word, Jack plucked the poker up by the handle and whipped the red hot tip to his chest. He let out a groan of pain as his flesh sizzled and the smell of burnt skin filled the air. Will and Gibbs' mouths fell open as they watched their captain remove the poker and place it in the stand next to the hearth. There was now a rectangular burn mark with rounded edges where the bullet hole had been. "Satisfied?" Jack asked the pair before brushing past them out of the galley and continuing below.

Meanwhile, Chris was clawing, scratching and biting on the deck of Malcolm's ship. Four men rushed her and managed to tie her hands behind her back. "Bloody Bastards! LET ME GO!" She cursed and with a very high and lucky kick, she hit a man in the jaw. He screamed as his jaw made a cracking noise. Malcolm stepped forward and backhanded her, again and again until there was a stream of blood from her nose and she was not acting cantankerous. She looked up, blood dribbling down nose and lips. She spat it onto the deck at Malcolm's feet.

"Take her down with the girl." Malcolm ordered, looking down his nose at her before turning on his heel and walking away. Some men pulled her to the stairwell that led below. They marched her to the very last deck of the ship where the brig lay. This brig was clean and tidy, which was saying something, especially since pirates didn't usually much care for whoever would be thrown inside. The wood was fresh there was not a whiff of a mildew smell, and the lanterns hung on the outside of the brig's bars were actually full of oil and cast good light. One of the men unlocked the brig's door and positioned her in the doorway. Once the door was opened, her bonds were cut and she was kicked inside, hard. She hit the bench that would be used as a bed and seat as the door clanged shut and the lock was turned. Curses streamed from her lips as she turned to glare at the single man left to guard her. Chris' body ached all over from the beating it had taken in the past hour or two, and with the fresh impact against the bench, it sent her breastbone stinging with pain. Her pain was soon forgotten, though, when she spotted the quivering bundle of cloth that was Ali. She seemed so small in her dress, and as she shivered, so did the cloth.

"Ali? Oh Ali..." Chris' voice became soft and gentle as scooted over to the girl and sat beside her. She placed a hand on Ali's back and rubbed it soothingly. Sure, things were looking grim, but she needed to assure Ali and try and keep things positive. "It will be all right Ali. They want me, not you." Alright, maybe that wasn't that helpful…

"Are you Chris, Daddy's friend?" Ali asked, sniffing and wiping her nose with the back of her hand. Her bruised brow looked like it had puffed up a bit from her crying, and Chris' lips twitched downward in pity. Poor thing, only four years old or so and she had received blows that she never should have had to suffer.

Chris smiled gently. "Yes, and I promise, Ali, I won't let these bad men hurt you. They're just mad at me, not you."

"But that's Uncle Edward. He doesn't like me. L-last time he visited Poppa John, Uncle Edward kicked me in the side." Ali sniffled. "I think he's going to try and hurt me."

Chris leaned down and pulled Ali up so that she was no longer lying on the floor, but leaning against Chris. "It won't happen again, Ali, I promise." She reached down and started stroking Ali's hair. She remembered that when she was little and upset, her mother would stroke her hair and tell her a story. So, with the intent to keep up morale, Chris decided to do the same. "Want to hear a story about your mummy and daddy and Captain Jack?" Chris had first heard the story of Captain Jack Sparrow, Will Turner, and Elizabeth Swann and a chest full of cursed Aztec gold shortly after signing onto the _Black Pearl_, and Chris was pretty certain Ali wouldn't have heard the story of her parents' grand adventure.

"Oh, please yes!" Ali said, looking up at Chris.

Chris' fingers deftly moved through Ali's hair as she began the story. "Well, it all began when Captain Jack – Let's call him Uncle Jack – sailed into Port Royale on a sinking ship…"

Meanwhile on the _Black Pearl_, Will was shirtless and in the hold, working the pumps alongside Anamaria. Some hasty sewing by Cotton had stitched up his cut, but some blood still seeped from it. The handle of the pumps spread across the breadth of the ship and were set up so that when one person was pushing down, the other was pulling up, preparing to press down as soon as the other let up, and in so doing the pumps could work continuously. The pump drew the water out of the hold below and pumped it up over the side of the ship. Will and Anamaria had been at it for hours while Jack and Marty were trying to patch the holes beneath the waterline below.

As Will's muscles were screaming for release, Jack and Marty climbed up the stairs. Jack had put another shirt on, one that was not destroyed and was less covered in blood than his previous garment. He crossed to the pumps while Marty continued upwards with the ship's repair supplies. "She'll hold until we can get into port to a proper shipwright as long as no one else decides to blow anymore holes in my ship." Jack sighed and rubbed his face. "But I don't think we'll be able to catch up to them until tomorrow."

"What? Tomorrow?!" Will erupted. "Ali could be dead by tomorrow!"

Jack looked at Anamaria. "Love, we won't be needing the pumps worked anymore if ye want to get some grub." Anamaria looked between Will and Jack and nodded before headed above. Jack moved to Will and leaned in so close that their noses were barely an inch apart. "Will. The sun is setting, and the ocean will soon be darker than any pit in Hell. We have nothing but the wind to aid us and the general direction of where the ship sailed. There's nothing else we can do."

"But Jack, my daughter –"

Jack raised a hand to silence Will. "Yes, your daughter is with my quartermaster and I will do my best to make sure that my ship sails as fast as she can to find the ship that took them. But do not make the mistake that I am not worried about the whether or not Chris and Ali are alive or dead. Do not." With that, Jack crossed to the stairwell, holding his chest where the bullet had hit him, and continued above.

Will stood in the hold with his chest heaving from emotion. He felt like he was going to fly apart in a dozen pieces. In the space of forty-eight hours, he had gone from having no family, to gaining some of it back, to losing it again. It was a miracle that he hadn't gone mad. Will joined the palms of his hands and rested them against his nose, breathing in deeply. _Keep yourself together, Will. You need to keep yourself together long enough to get Ali back_… He released a long breath and then headed above to see what he could do to help the _Black Pearl _get under way.

"…And that was how your mummy and daddy met Uncle Jack and fell in love." Chris finished her story some hours after she had started it. She may have embellished a little bit, and acted out some of the parts complete with different voices for each character, but it certainly took Ali's attention away from the fact that both she and the female pirate were in the brig of an unfriendly ship.

Ali looked up at Chris in the dim light, her face full of amazement. "Wow!!!" She breathed. "I never knew that."

Chris smiled. "It's all true. Jack told me the entire story and I was lost for words."

"Jack is the one with the rope-like hair, right Aunt Chris?"

_Aunt Chris_? She smiled at the title. "Aye, Ali, they're called dreadlocks."

"He called my dad a Eucharist or you-muck or something. What's that?" Ali asked, her brow arched in curiosity.

Chris blushed and stifled a chuckle. "Ask your daddy when we see him again." There were just some things a girl needed to hear from her father. The door to the hold opened and two men walked in. One of them was a tall, dark Spaniard and the other a young man who had white hair at his early age. They nodded to the guard and he began to unlock the door. Chris immediately plucked Ali from her lap, stood her upon the brig's bench, and placed herself between the young girl and the two men that entered.

"The captain has sent us to fetch you to dine with him." The Spaniard informed Chris.

Chris looked to Ali and turned back to the Spaniard. "I am going to have to respectfully decline. My cohort and I were planning to dine alone." Her hand moved behind her to find one of Ali's. When she did find the girl's hand, she enveloped it in her bigger one and squeezed.

"You don't have a choice." The white hair man grunted. He pulled out a sheathed dagger and crossed to Chris, pulling arm back to strike her.

"Stop! I'll go with you," The white haired man paused and looked at his Spaniard counterpart as Chris spoke. "I just need to know that she'll be fine."

The Spaniard and the white haired man looked at each other, their brows raised. "That's up to the guard."

Chris turned to the man that had stood for the past three watches outside the brig. "Do I have your word, sir, that my small friend here will not be harmed in my absence?"

The guard looked a bit taken aback. "Of course."

"Do you swear on your honor?" Chris asked.

"I will treat her as though she's me own. I have one her age back 'ome."

Chris gave Ali's hand another squeeze before releasing it. She walked forward so that she was flush with the white haired man and said, "Then I will go without a fight."

The Spaniard looked to the white haired man. "That actually wasn't the plan." The white man clobbered Chris in the back of the head and she knew nothing but darkness.

When her consciousness returned, she felt that her arms were bound to a chair and she was not wearing her trousers. Her eyes slowly opened and she saw that, in her unconsciousness, she had been stripped of her trousers and shirt and dressed in a blue dress that was too small. Her chest was practically spilling from the neckline, and she was having trouble taking in anything but a shallow breath. She saw that her chair was in what could only be the officer's mess and she sat before a table. The cabin had a carpet upon the floor, several other chairs, and the table that was loaded with food. A lantern hung from the ceiling and swayed with the rolling of the ship. The single lantern made the atmosphere in the cabin intimate and quiet, except for the fact that on the other side of the table sat Edward Malcolm, finishing a leg of meat.

"Now, that's how I like my women dressed." He said, throwing the bone onto the table and patting his lips with a napkin as he stared at her chest. "Do not worry; my men were very, very gentle changing you." He smirked and stood, pulling Chris' trousers and shirt from the chair beside him. He held them up as if inspecting them and asked, "Not really the latest fashion, is it?" Chris stared at him hard. He let her clothes drop to the floor and circled around the table. "No no, this suits you much, much more." Malcolm came up besides Chris and fingered a strand of her hair. She jerked away from his hand and he smiled. "Now… To business." He left her side and crossed back to his seat across from her. "I have graced you with my name, and I know that you know it. But I've yet to learn your name." He stared at her intently with his dark eyes.

Chris stared right back into Malcolm's face. She knew Edward Malcolm's name, but not out of pleasure or necessity. And she was certain that if she told him her name, he would know who she was. But she couldn't stay silent. "My name is Chris Thomas."

"Chris Thomas." Malcolm replied, taking a wine glass from the table. "Chris… Thomas –" His head whipped up from the glass and he looked at Chris hard. "Chris is short for Christiana?" The female pirate swallowed hard and nodded. Malcolm set the wine glass down on the table and said, "Well, doesn't fortune smile upon me! My missing bride finally arrives!"

Chris' father was a lord, and he always wanted what was best for her. So he arranged for Chris to marry a wealthy lord named Edward Malcolm who owned a sugar plantation in Jamaica. She knew that her father only wanted her to never want for anything, so she agreed and sailed for Jamaica after her fifteenth birthday. En route, pirates had attacked the ship she sailed upon, and the ship's captain offered her and the ransom she would bring in exchange for his ship. The pirate captain accepted, but also took the captain's cargo to teach the man a lesson in manners. While Chris was captive, the pirates were attacked by Spaniards and Chris saved the pirate captain's life. In exchange, he offered to put her off at any port. Instead, Chris decided to become a pirate.

Lord Malcolm couldn't help but grin. "This is cause for celebration! I go to find my father's killer and his young ward, and not only do I find both of them, but my long absent betrothed!" He took the bottle of wine and uncorked it before pouring the red spirits into the glass he had set down. "After everything your fool of a father did to try and find you –"

"You may say want you want about me, but hold your tongue in regards to my father!" Chris snapped icily.

Malcolm smiled at her and picked up the glass. "As you wish." He leaned across the table and held the glass to her lips. Chris turned her head. Malcolm withdrew the glass and drank from it instead. "Do we have to be so difficult, Christy? You don't mind if I call you that do ye, Christy?" He didn't wait for an answer. "So, as well as being my future bride, you're the one that killed my father. Actually, you did us a favor. Now I control several pirate ships and most of the trade in and out of Tortuga." He took another drink from his glass and searched the table for something to eat.

"My father said you were a lord with a sugar plantation." Chris said, her voice quiet. "Not even a lord can participate in piracy and go unnoticed."

Malcolm plucked a bunch of grapes from the table and pulled several off with his lips, chewing as he spoke. "Normally, that would be true. But it was not me, but my father operating in piracy. And if a pirate has the same last name as a man who bought his way into the peerage, so what? As long as I kept my nose clean, no one had a second thought." Malcolm swallowed and took another bite of grapes, spitting out little bits of vine. "But as to the current predicament, I am torn whether to reward you or punish you for bringing me into my inheritance. Punishment, of course, would be death, but seeing as we were supposed to be married, and given your current profession…" His eyes roamed up and down her body in such a blatant fashion that she squirmed. Malcolm smiled and his voice was husky with lust as he spoke. "You could be my pirate queen, my wife at last. We could pillage and plunder the entire Caribbean and make Spain, Britain, France, and the Dutch quail underneath our gaze." Malcolm's dark eyes flashed and he looked into her face. "But first, there's the matter of providing an heir for me…"

Chris' lips parted in a snarl. "I would rather die." The way that Malcolm's words rolled from his tongue was enough to make Chris sick to her stomach. And to think of giving herself to this man that was supposed to be her husband and had been trusted by her father only to turn out to have lied to him and abused his trust made her want to run him through.

"Christy, Christy, you don't have a choice here. Whatever I choose is final, and you don't have a say in it. Just as it should be with women." He downed the rest of his wine and sank down into his chair across from her. "But, until I decide, or you make it easier on yourself…" His tongue ran across the rim of his bottom lip as his eyes hovered on her chest, "I need to keep you alive." He took the bunch of grapes he had been eating off of and held it to her lips.

"I could feed myself if you untied my arms." She said innocently, hooding her blue eyes.

Malcolm smirked. "One arm. I am not stupid; I have seen only some of what I'm sure you're capable of." He rose and crossed to where Chris sat and loosened the rope on her left hand. He backed away slowly and watched as Chris flexed her hand to get any cramps out of it before reaching for and apple. She brought the red fruit to her lips and bit into it with a satisfying crunch.

"There we go. You need to keep up your strength, Christy." Malcolm placed his hand upon her shoulder and squeezed. Chris rolled her shoulder so that his hand fell off.

"Just because I'm eating your food doesn't give you the right to touch me." She snapped with a mouthful of apple.

"You are my captive, and in being so, I can do whatever I please with you. I think you'll stay in your bonds tonight, but spend it in my cabin." A smirk slid onto his face that made Chris want to slap it off.

She swallowed the bite of apple and decided that she was not going to settle for any of his nonsense, nor was she going to be frightened. "Don't think that you'll have me on this ship for long, Malcolm. The _Black Pearl_ will come for the girl and me, and when she does, you'll be sorry."

Malcolm let out a derisive snort. "I don't think so. If the captain is even still alive, he's probably too drunk to repair his ship and they're probably sunk and stranded in jolly boats to be found by the Royal Navy. And, if the Royal Navy finds them, I'm sure they'll be too interested in hanging all of the pirates instead of coming to rescue you."

"If the Royal Navy does find them, the girl is the granddaughter of the governor of Jamaica and one of those pirates is his son-in-law. You won't get far before they blow you to kingdom come or, more likely, somewhere worse." Chris smiled sarcastically.

"I don't think so." Malcolm repeated. "I have power everywhere. The Royal Navy was recently able to build a new man-of-war named the _Titan_ because of my donations. They stay away from my waters, I stay away from theirs. Any Royal Navy ship in my waters is blown to pieces."

Chris' hope faltered. If he had contacts in the Royal Navy, where else could they be? "I'm not hungry anymore." The apple fell to the floor and she stared straight ahead.


	7. Rum and a Disguise

**Chapter Seven  
Rum and a Disguise**

Jack and Will were still awake when the sun greeted them the following morning, and they winced. Jack had not slept for the past two nights, and while Will had slept the night before, the lack of sleep was beginning to affect him. He found himself dozing off in the top and began to sag in the rigging. He caught himself and awoke just before his grip on the ropes failed. Yes, they were doing their best to follow Malcolm's largest ship, but Will knew he wouldn't be of any use to Ali if he was exhausted and just about ready to fall down. He carefully climbed down to the deck, landing just behind the wheel, where Jack stood. Anamaria and Gibbs were currently trying to persuade Jack to get some rest.

"Captain, you look like you're ready to fall over!" Gibbs exclaimed.

"Might I remind you that you were shot less than seven watches ago?" Anamaria asked.

"Last I recalled, I was the captain of this ship –"

Will clapped Jack on the back. "Fancy a rum Jack? I know I'm thirsty, and can't Gibbs watch the helm for a few minutes?" Gibbs and Anamaria looked at Will sharply, and he winked.

Jack smacked his lips. "My throat is rather dry." He looked to the wheel and then back to Will. "Five minutes, Mr. Gibbs. Mr. Gibbs has the con!" Jack called, stepping back from the wheel.

"This is Gibbs, I have the con." Gibbs replied. Will kept his arm about Jack's shoulder as they went down the stairs and turned into the captain's cabin. Charts were spread out across Jack's table, but there were, of course, several bottles of rum. Jack grabbed two of them from the table, weighed each in his hand, and handed the lighter one to Will.

Jack uncorked his bottle and sank into a chair with a deep sigh. "Me legs are aching." He groaned as he stretched the aforementioned limbs before him.

Will wiped the mouth of the rum bottle off with the tail of his shirt. "How's your chest?" He asked before taking a drink and grimacing.

Jack shrugged. "Not dead yet."

"No."

Jack sighed as he stretched out in his chair. "Hey Will, I'm just gonna close my eyes for five minutes. Will ye wake me up when the time's gone?" Will nodded. Jack closed his eyes and took another sip of his rum. "We're going to get our girls back, Will."

"I believe you, Jack." Will replied. He kept his eyes open long enough to hear the soft snores issuing from Jack's nose before following suit and shutting his eyes for some much needed rest.

After Chris announced that her appetite had left her the night before, Malcolm tried to use his sugared tongue to coax her into his bed. When she spurned his advances, he extinguished the lantern and left her in the dark. She did her best to try and loose her bonds with her free hand, but it was hopeless. Eventually, Chris fell asleep with her head slumped upon her chest. When she awoke the next morning, she was still alone. It took her a moment to realize where she was and then to try and work feeling into her feet and still bound arm. She was alone, still with the food from the previous night's dinner, and she knew that somehow she could free herself from the blasted chair.

Chris' eyes roamed over the table and she spotted the knife that had been used to carve the leg of meat Malcolm had eaten the night before still on the table. She had a free hand, she could reach it. She leaned forward as far as her restraints allowed her and reached for the knife, but she fell just a few inches short. "No…" She murmured. She looked and saw that a banana was within reach. She grabbed the fruit and used it to pull the knife closer. The blade clattered onto the table and Chris stopped to listen for any steps approaching the officer's mess. She heard nothing. Chris swiped the banana and the blade scooted closer to her. She dropped the fruit and snatched the knife by the handle.

Chris used the knife to saw away at the rope securing her other arm to the chair. It snapped apart and she shook her arm free. With the slack that created, she was able to pull the rest of the rope from her body. She stood on unsteady feet and grabbed the banana, peeling it and then stuffing the fruit in her mouth. She was starving, and if she was going to try to escape, she needed to keep her strength up. She also needed to relieve herself something fierce. She grabbed the bucket that the wine had been in and used it accordingly. Once she was done, she spotted her breeches and shirt from where Malcolm had dropped them. She shed the dress and threw it into the bucket before pulling on her breeches and buttoning up her shirt. She crossed to the porthole and saw that off to the starboard side was a small island. The sooner Chris and Ali got off the ship, the better. Quickly, Chris thought up a plan.

She sawed off some of her brown hair with the knife and grabbed a few grapes from the table. She squished them onto her chin to make it sticky and then stuck her hair to it in what she thought was a good imitation of a fledgling beard. The matter of her chest was more difficult to get around. Well, it wasn't as noticeable when it wasn't shoved upwards by a too small dress. If she moved quickly, perhaps no one would notice. Chris tucked the knife into her breeches and crossed to the door leading into the companionway. She took a deep breath before opening the door and peeking out. No one was about, but the stairs were to her left.

She followed the stairs down to the brig. A different guard was standing watch. Chris deepened her voice and tried her best to make it come out raspy. She saluted the guard and said, "Lord Malcolm wants the kid." If she had been anyone else, she would have taken herself for a man. The guard nodded and unlocked the brig.

"Where's the wench?" The guard asked, pulling the door open.

"Captain's bedroom." She and the guard traded gruff laughs as she entered the brig. Ali huddled herself in a corner, but could not elude Chris. She roughly grabbed Ali by the arm and pulled her from the brig.

"Let me go!" Ali cried.

"Women, right? Even small ones." Chris rolled her eye and the guard nodded. "Come on you…" Chris pulled Ali up the stairs with difficulty as the child tried to resist. She went with it, for it was more convincing if anyone spotted them along the way. When they came above, Ali had just about given up her struggle. Chris crossed to the bulkhead on the starboard side and tried to measure the distance between the ship and the island. It was a good swim. She looked down and tried to estimate the depth of the water. Chris prayed Ali could swim.

"You there!" Chris' head whipped around and she saw Malcolm at the helm, pointing at her. "What are you doing with the runt?" Chris smiled and his jaw dropped as he realized that she wasn't one of his sailors.

"I'm taking her away from you." She bent her legs in a mock curtsy, pulled Ali up to hold her against her chest, and then threw herself and Ali overboard.


	8. The Island

**Chapter Eight  
The Island**

Foam and air bubbles billowed around Ali and Chris as they hit the cold clear water of the Caribbean. Ali was not struggling anymore, which was something, and made it easier for Chris to kick her legs and bring them to the surface. Chris spat out a mouthful of salt as they broke the surface and asked, "Ali, can you swim?" The little girl was unable to respond as gunfire filled the air. The water about them sprayed up as Malcolm's men leaned over the bulkhead above and shot at them with any type of gun they could get their hands on. "Breathe!" Chris yelled, and then she pulled Ali underneath the surface and kicked away from the ship for all she was worth.

Ali started pulling on Chris' clothes, and so she surfaced as soon as she could. The hail of gunfire seemed to have stopped for the moment as the two broke the surface and sucked in grateful breaths of air. Chris turned to see that those on the ship were reloading, but the gun ports were opening. She turned to the coughing Ali and said, "Ali! Listen to me! Can you swim?" Ali shook her head. Chris cursed. "This is what I need you to do." She turned in the water. "Get on my back. I need you to take another breath and hold it for a long time. Do you understand?"

"Y-yes, Aunt Chris." Ali's teeth chattered madly. "But I'm cold." She whimpered as she placed her arms around Chris' neck. Chris almost bobbed beneath the surface, but she just barely maintained her buoyancy.

"I need you to trust me, Ali. Ready?" Chris asked. Ali nodded. "Breathe!"

She eyed the island and pointed her nose that way. Chris sucked air into her lungs and then dove. Chris' legs beat the cold water furiously as she propelled herself in the direction of the scrap of land. She kicked until she hadn't an ounce of breath in her lungs and then she surfaced. The island was getting closer. She could just make out the details of the tree line behind the white beach. She did not turn to look the ship, instead she asked Ali if she was ready, and when Ali said she was, Chris sucked in another lungful of air and dove once more.

Back on the _Black Pearl_, Jack jerked out of a dream to find that the day had lengthened during the supposed five minute nap he had taken. He cursed, his rum bottle fell to the floor and at that sound, Will jerked awake. "You sot, you fell asleep!" Jack said, standing.

"You needed sleep as badly as I did, Jack." Will replied, wiping sleep from his eye. "You're no use to anyone exhausted."

"I was just fine, Turner –!"A knocking at the door interrupted Jack. He crossed to the door and opened it, finding Gibbs.

"Captain, glad to see you're awake." Jack glared at Will before looking back to the breathless Gibbs. "We have a ship off our port bow with British colors. We're in no shape to fight."

Jack and Will shot each other looks before following Gibbs up onto the bridge. Jack pulled out his long glass, which had been badly damaged in the battle with Malcolm's men and was just barely usable. But through the cracked lens, Jack could read the name of the navy ship. The_ Dauntless _was heading right for them.

Half an hour later, Chris and Ali staggered onto the white beach of the island, both looking like drowned rats. Ali fell to her knees and coughed up a bunch of sea water into the sand as Chris looked back to the ship. She could hardly make out individual figures on the deck. As she shielded her eyes against the sun, a sudden **BOOM!** rolled out over the water. Chris hit the sand as a cannon ball hit the water several hundred feet away.

"Why are they still after us?!" Chris shouted, her fists balled in frustration. She turned to Ali, who had stopped hacking up saltwater. She crossed and hoisted the girl onto her hip. "Come on Ali, let's get into the trees. If they can't see us, they can't track us." Another boom rolled across the water and this cannonball hit the beach, sending up a spray of sand. Chris looked to the ship one last time before she and Ali entered the tree line. There was no path, but Chris tried to pick her way through the bushes and underbrush, and winced as her feet were punctured and beaten by rocks and stones. Her feet were used to rough rope or smooth decks, not lumpy rocks or sharp branches.

After a few minutes of painful walking, she stopped. "We should rest." She said, breathing hard, "Just a few minutes. 'Sides, they can't see us through the trees." She sat Ali onto the ground and spotted a likely rock to sit on. She did.

"Are they going to come after us, Aunt Chris?" Ali asked, looking back the way they came.

"I don't know, Ali.' Chris pulled her feet up to examine them. "That ponce sure can't let anything go if he does."

"Aunt Chris?"

"Yes?"

"I'm thirsty."

Chris smiled kindly. "Me too, sweetie. That saltwater is awful on the tongue." She stood slowly, easing her weight onto her battered feet. "Take my hand, we'll find something to drink." Ali did so, and the two continued walking through the foliage. Chris ignored the tell tale pain of her feet getting cut up and strained her ears for the sound of a stream or any running water. When she heard nothing, she examined the treetops and found a tree with several green and brown coconuts. "Here we go!" Chris snatched a rock from the ground and pelted it at the trunk of the tree. Several brown coconuts fell off upon impact. Chris smiled at Ali and walked forward to gather them.

"These are coconuts." Chris said, crossing back to Ali. She inspected the ground and found a sizeable rock. "You can drink the milk inside and eat the meat, thus quenching your thirst and filling your belly." She sat next to the rock and let the gathered coconuts fall beside her. Ali sat down across from her, watching Chris carefully. Chris picked up a coconut and shook it next to her ear. She heard the sloshing of the coconut milk inside. She then raised the fruit over her head and began bouncing it off the rock. With a cracking sound, the coconut broke into three pieces, two smaller and one larger. "Drink whatever left in this half." Chris commanded, giving the larger piece to Ali. Ali slowly sipped what coconut milk was left while Chris, realizing that the banana wasn't enough for a proper breakfast after the morning's exertions, started devouring the coconut meat from the two smaller pieces. Ali looked closer at the white fruit in her half.

"Aunt Chris, this doesn't look like meat." Her nose was slightly wrinkled as she said this.

"It isn't really meat, Ali, they just call it that." She ate the last of her coconut meat and waited for Ali to finish hers. She gathered the other coconuts into her arm. "Can you walk?" She asked Ali. She nodded. "Alright. Come on, Ali, we better get a move on." With Chris leading, she and Ali continued into the interior of the island.


	9. The Dauntless and the Tempest

**Chapter Nine  
The Dauntless and the Tempest**

Later that day, Chris and Ali had cracked the remaining coconuts for their milk and ate the meat. Ali was tuckered out, so Chris resorted to carrying her once more. Slowly, her feet became bloodied, and Chris realized she would be leaving a trail behind her. Chris sat Ali down, rousing her from a slight doze she had been taking, and sinking onto a rock. They had just approached a clearing of sand that had flowers edging it.

"We'll be moving in a minute, Ali." Chris panted. Ali nodded, rubbed the sleep from her eyes, and looked at some of the vibrant purple flowers on the edge of the clearing. She slowly walked to them, her hand outstretched to pick them when the sand underneath her gave way. She screamed and disappeared into a hole with a splash. Chris ran over to the edge of the hole and dropped to her stomach, peering into the darkness. "Ali! Ali, are you alright?"

"Yes, Auntie. There's water down here! And… Oooh! Sparkles!" Ali echoed from inside the hole.

Chris hadn't the faintest idea of what 'Sparkles' was. And furthermore, just what did Ali fall into? If she hadn't been hurt, Chris wouldn't either, right? But still, they needed a way out. "Ali, stay put!" Chris had lost the knife she tucked in her waistband on the swim to shore, but she could improvise. She spotted several vines hanging from a nearby tree and, using a rock, severed enough to make what could be used as a rope that would be outrageously long and hopefully lengthy enough. Chris tied the vines together, returned to the hole, and then used a side splice to tie the vines to a nearby tree. She threw the end of the joined vines into the hole and heard the end splash into the water. She called, "Watch out, Ali, I'm coming down!" Chris grabbed the vine and lowered herself into the hole hand over hand. She observed nothing but darkness around her as she descended, but she did make out the glimmer of water. She dropped into the water once she was close enough and saw that Ali was no longer in the water, but had climbed onto a pile of golden treasure that sat in the water. Chris' eyes widened. The _Black Pearl_ had not seen swag like that for months, and to just find it in a random hole in the ground was amazing. Chris stood and observed her surroundings.

The hole was entrance to an underground cavern. The opening that Ali had fallen through was far above, and directly in front of Chris and beyond the treasure pile was what must have been the results of a cave-in. Stones were piled on top of each other, but at the top of the pile, a small window of light and air leaked in. Chris had yet to look behind her.

Ali seemed not at all phased that she had just fallen through a hole in the ground into an underground cave. She grabbed a rope of pearls from the pile of gold and wrapped it around her neck. "Lookie Auntie, I'm a lady!" She said, flaunting the pearls. Her jaw suddenly dropped. "Auntie, it's a ship! A ship!" She pointed behind Chris. Chris turned to see that, indeed, behind her in the water sat a small ship, the sails gone and the wood gray and weathered. Chris thought that there could be food on there or maybe water that was still fresh, and that would help Chris and Ali out greatly until they figured out what to do next.

"Ali, could you stay here and play? I'm going to go see if there's anything we can use aboard that ship. Can you do that for me?"

Ali had already plucked some more jewelry from the treasure pile and was preoccupied. "Yes."

Chris nodded and began wading through the waist deep water to the ship. By the condition of the wood and the absence of sails, Chris figured that there was no living thing on board. She hoped she was right. When she had made it to the ship, she pulled herself up using rigging that was hanging off the bow. As Chris climbed over the bulkhead, the ship creaked precariously. She cursed herself immediately, knowing that if the ship's deck had dry rot, she could fall through at any moment and be impaled upon the splintered timbers. She held still for a few seconds, and when there was no spray of wood or cracking noises, she took another step. The wood creaked, but she did not fall through. Chris continued down the stairs and aft to the captain's cabin. If the captain's log was in there, she could find out what had happened to this ship and what the state of supplies were on board.

She turned the brass doorknob and opened the door. A wave of decay and putrefaction filled her nostrils, and she grimaced as she looked inside. The cabin held a dusty bed, and in the bed laid the remains of some poor old sailor. While he was decayed beyond recognition, Chris could tell by the slit to his throat and the dried blood beneath that he had been killed. She looked and saw that there were navigational charts on a table rimmed with chairs, and a desk, but hardly anything else in the way of furnishing. The desk held several quills and papers, and Chris then saw what she was looking for: the log book. She walked to the desk and picked it up; flipping to the last day anything had been written.

"_April 14 – Mr. Kemp has told me that our female prisoner made an attempt on his life today with a sharpened wooden stick when he brought her food. She received forty lashes and was threatened to have her nose hacked off if she does not cooperate. If she is truly who she says, we shall receive a hefty fee for her safe return, but I will not tolerate insolence. If a nose costs one hundred gold pieces, so be it._

"_Mr. Sands has informed me of a cave to hide our swag for the present moment. We will sail into the cave tonight, unload, and then hopefully be sailing to Port Royale for the ransom of our prisoner by early morning._

"_Evening – As we sailed the ship into the cave, a horrible rumbling came from above. Our keel had just made it in when the wall collapsed and darkness engulfed us. We are trapped. The rocks are too heavy to move. We already have a limited amount of food and I fear we will not get out._"

Chris closed the book and shuddered. This ship had been a pirate ship, by the sound of the ransoming of a prisoner, and all aboard it had been trapped and doomed to die a sunless, hungry death. _Rest in peace, mates_. There was a sudden creak from the cabinets that lay beneath the bed. Chris dropped the log book onto the floor and whirled towards the sound. Suddenly, a matted, furry beast ran out of the cupboards and up Chris' pant leg, shrieking and squealing. Chris arm shot out to grab it and hold it before her, her face pulled back in fear. The beast let out another shriek before pulling away to look at her, and Chris was able to decipher what she held. In Chris' hand was a starved monkey.

The _Black Pearl _had to float idly by as the _Dauntless _threw their grappling hooks over to the pirate ship and secured the two vessels together. Planks were thrown across, and Jack swept his hat from his head as Commodore James Norrington, followed closely by Gillette, boarded the _Pearl_. "'ello again, Commodore. Fancy meeting you here."

"Save it, Sparrow. Everyone on this ship is hereby arrested for piracy." Marines marched onto the deck and lowered their muskets, their fingers on the trigger.

Jack drew his sword. First, his ship had holes blown in it. Second, his quartermaster and the daughter of a man he owed his life to had been taken. Now, with Commodore James Norrington, the biggest sod in the Caribbean, proclaiming him and his crew under arrest, he broke. "Commodore, I am not goin' without a fight, savvy?" The Marines all turned to Jack, their weapons pointed at him.

Will threw himself in front of the pirate captain, minding his sword. "We didn't allow you to board us so you could hang us." Will said.

Norrington looked at him with disgust and surprise. "Mr. Turner, I know that your circumstances changed a year ago, but did you really feel the need to take up piracy?" Jack grabbed Will before he could do anything rash. "And the_ Dauntless _would have boarded you with or without your allowance, so don't presume –"

"Commodore, I know that your brain is small, so let me explain." Jack said, pulling Will behind me. "We are currently chasing a ship that holds Will and Elizabeth Turner's daughter Ali hostage. If you don't want to bring the governor's granddaughter back to Port Royale, please, continue to arrest us." Jack lowered his sword. "But if you would like to bring the little one back to her father and doting grandfather, ye should follow us posthaste."

Norrington looked puzzled and hesitant. "I'm not sure whether to believe you, but I believe I should have a thorough explanation before I make a decision."

Back on the island, Chris and Ali sat amongst the treasure, supping on bananas and coconuts that Chris had retrieved from above. The starved monkey sat apart from them, eating a mixture of leaves, flowers, and fruit. Every now and then he would look at them suspiciously before stuffing food into his mouth and chewing. Ali watched him with curiosity. "Can we keep him?" She asked.

"As a pet? I don't think your daddy would like that, Ali." Chris said. A golden cutlass in the treasure pile caught her attention, and she reached for it. She examined the hilt and blade as Ali continued speaking.

"Oh, I know he will. We just have to feed him and he'll become friendly. It happens with dogs." Ali said. She bit off a bit of banana and placed it into her palm. She held it out to the small creature and said, "Monkeys like bananas, right?" The monkey chewed what was in its mouth and sniffed the air. He loped forward cautiously, snatched the banana from her hand, and loped back to his place before stuffing the banana into his mouth. Ali giggled.

Chris took her eyes from the cutlass and looked back to the ship. She hadn't noticed a name before, but now she saw faded lettering on the side spelling out the_ Tempest_. She hadn't heard the name before in all her time in the Caribbean. She examined the shape of the ship, wondering if it could have been renamed when she detected movement on the vessel. A figure suddenly ran across the deck of the ship and disappeared below. Chris jerked in surprise and pulled herself to her feet. The monkey screeched in alarm and hopped into the water at Chris' sudden moves.

"What, Auntie Chris?" Ali asked.

"Stay here. I need to go back on the ship. I think our little friend," She looked at the monkey that was snaking through the water back to the treasure island and then looked back to Ali, "May have another friend."

"Another monkey?" Ali asked in delight.

"Just stay here. Feed him more bananas." Chris took the cutlass from the treasure and waded into the water. When she approached the rigging, she tossed the cutlass onto the deck before climbing up. She retrieved the cutlass once on deck and then headed below. It was pitch black inside the ship, so she returned to the captain's cabin and plucked a lantern from his desk. It still held oil, and after some searching in the desk, Chris found a flint. She lit the lantern's wick and exited the cabin, heading below once more.

Chris gave each deck a cursory glance, but there was no movement. She continued below until she came to the brig, finding herself calf deep in water. She raised her lantern to cast light about, and as she did, she heard a thrashing further into the hold. "Who's there?" She asked, her lantern shaking in alarm. The thrashing silenced. Chris raised her lantern higher, but whatever it was ran from the light. "I'm not going to hurt you." Chris called, "I swear!"

"It's a lady." Ali said from the stairwell.

Chris jumped, almost dropping the lantern. "Ali, I told you to stay with the monkey!" She rounded on her and Ali hopped down the stairs and into the water.

"But I heard her singing after you came on board." Ali reached for Chris' hand and Chris sat the cutlass down. "She was singing about pirates." The thrashing started again. "I thought she would be a friend."

"Stay close, Ali." Chris squeezed Ali's hand and the pair walked towards the sound of the thrashing. The light caught upon a scrap of white, and Chris lifted the lantern over her head to cast a wider beam of light. The white was a chemise, and it was worn by someone who was covering their face. Sobs issued from behind the hands. "We aren't going to hurt you; we just want to help you." She said as softly as she could.

The woman uncovered her face slowly and looked at Chris and Ali with tears in her copper colored, red-ringed eyes. Her brown hair was grizzled and matted. Chris could see the woman's ribs through the chemise. Ali released Chris' hand and stepped forward.

"What are you doing?" Chris asked, reaching for Ali. Ali ignored her reach.

The child reached forward and asked, "Mummy?"


	10. Commodore Norrington

**Chapter Ten  
Commodore Norrington**

The woman looked at Ali, confusion all over her face. Ali walked forward and held out her hand. "Mummy."

Chris shook her head. "Ali, it can't be… John Malcolm said –"

"I think she is, Auntie Chris." Ali reached up and slowly moved the woman's hair out of her face. The woman's lip trembled as she was touched. "It is mummy!" She exclaimed and without hesitation she threw herself onto the woman, her arms wrapping around in a hug. The woman recoiled at this show of affection but after a moment she reached up and softly began stroking Ali's hair.

Back aboard the _Pearl_, Will finished telling Norrington the story of all that had happened with the Malcolms, Ali, and the attack where his daughter and the quartermaster of the _Black Pearl_ were kidnapped. Will ended the story with, "And that is why we are wasting precious time and we need to get under way as soon as possible!"

Norrington arched an eyebrow. "Your story is very farfetched, Mr. Turner. Too farfetched for my tastes."

"What?!" Will blew up. "My daughter is out there, torn once more from the hands of her father –!"

"Hold your tongue, Turner!" Norrington commanded. "John Malcolm is a privateer for His Majesty's Navy! It is sad to see his passing, but his son is just as innocent as he ever was, and he is a close friend of my stepfather's!" The Marines bristled at the sudden shouting match.

"Was his son innocent when he shot me in the chest? Was his father innocent when he tried to kill Will when he tried to reclaim his daughter?!" Jack asked, cocking his head to the side.

"As I have said, he is a privateer for His Majesty's Navy!" Norrington proclaimed as loudly as he could.

"Shut your hole!" Jack snapped. "Listen, I sailed with Edward Malcolm once when I was between ships, and that man is no gentleman. If the crew did so much as haul the anchor too fast or too slow, he'd cut off their lips, boil them, and make them eat 'em." Norrington recoiled at Jack's remarks. Jack leaned closer and lowered his voice. "Now think about this, Commodore. His father bamboozled the king and the Navy for a great many years. Think of capturing his son, the **heir**, and taking him right to the king. Could you imagine the limitless rewards?"

Norrington looked as if he was having a conflict within. He sighed and finally spoke. "Fine. Captain Sparrow, the_ Dauntless_ will follow your ship, and if you show any signs of trying to fire upon us, or lead us into danger, or run, what is left of your… ship will be blown to pieces. Do I make myself clear?"

"Unavoidably." Jack replied, smiling. "Ye'd best get back to the_ Dauntless _and release us so we can get under way then!" He climbed to the bridge and Will was just about to follow him when Norrington stopped the blacksmith.

"Gillette, get the men back to the_ Dauntless_ and ready to make way." Norrington's lieutenant nodded and obeyed his orders. Norrington leaned closely to Will and said softly, "Mr. Turner, I hope you do not think that I am doing this to gain position or profit."

"Why would I think that?" Will asked sarcastically. "Jack all but laid it out for you."

Norrington closed his eyes and opened them. "You know that I loved Elizabeth. I still do even though she is gone." Will bowed his head. "But, if there is a chance that her daughter is alive… your daughter, someone she loved, someone of her blood, I cannot let that chance be blown away. That is why I am doing this."

Will took Norrington's hand and shook it. "Thank you James."

"It is not needed." Norrington replied. With that, each of them parted ways to ensure that their separate ships were making sail.

Back on the island, Chris felt slightly awkward observing Ali hugging this woman who was stroking her hair. The surface of the water below was not entirely smooth, and Chris saw that half-eaten carcasses of rats were floating in the water. The only thing she could deduce was that the rat's had been the reason why this woman was the only one left alive onboard the_ Tempest_. Chris found her voice and asked, "Are you Elizabeth Turner?" The woman looked up at her, her mouth open. "I don't mean to hurt you… We just…" Chris sighed. "My name is Chris and I'm a friend of Jack. Captain Jack Sparrow."

The woman's face changed little. "Yes, I am Elizabeth Turner." She said, her voice sounding as though it hadn't been used in a long length of time. She looked down at the child she held. "Is this really my Alice? My Ali, is it really you?"

"Yes, mummy, yes!" Ali crowed. "And daddy's going to save us; daddy's going to find us!"

"Will?" Elizabeth asked, looking to Chris. "Where's my husband?"

"First thing is first, Elizabeth, let's get you out of this hold." Chris walked forward and offered her arm. Together, she and Ali helped support the frail, malnourished woman up onto the deck and then down the rigging and into the water. Chris situated Elizabeth on the island of treasure and asked Ali to make sure she ate what was left of the bananas and coconuts. Chris returned to the ship and the captain's cabin to see if she could find something to clean the woman up with. She was surprised to find the monkey following her, as if making sure she was not disturbing the ship. She found a chest full of dresses, corsets, hats, ribbons, and combs beneath the captain's desk. What a captain was doing with such items, Chris did not know, but she plucked a comb and a dress from the chest and returned to the treasure island, the monkey following behind.

Chris laid the dress and comb next to Elizabeth, who was slowly chewing a banana. "Will is with Jack." Chris informed her. "We rescued Ali from John Malcolm, the pirate that took both of you, and he told Will that you were dead. After that, Malcolm's son tracked us down, attacked the _Pearl_, and nabbed Ali and I." Chris sucked in a breath. "Ali and I threw ourselves overboard Malcolm's ship and swam here. Ali's the one who found the cavern, and here we are."

"I think it was God's way of telling me my mummy was here." Ali giggled.

Elizabeth reached over to Ali and touched her hand. She swallowed the banana in her mouth and said, "John Malcolm sold me to a pirate crew. And they sold me to another. And I was sold again and again. While the lure of any reward was tempting, they didn't really like my attitude." A smile cracked her face open. "It seemed this last crew was Hell-bent on obtaining it. But through all that madness, the only thing that kept me going… was knowing that Will and Ali were alive. When the cave-in happened, most of the crew," Elizabeth's eyes darted to her daughter as she wondered whether to continue. She decided to. "The crew was killed by the captain and he ate their remains to survive. But when I was the last, I picked the lock on my cell and I – I…" Her voice cracked and she looked down, falling silent. Ali scooted closer to her mother and laid her head on her arm.

"Anything to survive, eh?" Chris asked. It wasn't really a cheery sentiment, but it wasn't damning either. "I'd do the same, Elizabeth." She looked to the vine hanging from above and announced, "I'll go find some more food to last us through the night. I'll be right back." She left the treasure island and waded to where the vine hung down. The monkey followed and jumped onto Chris' shoulder as she grabbed the vine. She looked to him and asked, "Along for the ride, mate?" The monkey did not reply. The sun was just sinking over the horizon, staining the sky a blood red as Chris pulled herself and the monkey from the hole.

The monkey leaped from her shoulder as soon as Chris was free of the hole and bounded into the vegetation. Chris watched him go and thought of the freedom he was probably enjoying after being cooped up in that rancid cabin for who knew how long. Not far from the clearing, she spotted a banana tree that was closer than the previous one she had picked fruit from. Her entire body was aching with the events of the previous days, but she had a malnourished woman, a growing child, and (if he ever came back) a starved monkey to feed, not to mention herself. Using skills acquired from years of climbing rigging and ropes, Chris climbed into the banana tree and twisted a large cluster of bananas from the top. It fell to the ground and Chris slid down after it. She slung the bananas over her back and started to walk back to the hole when she heard masculine voices. She dropped to her knees, the bananas rolled to the side, and she held her breath.

"Cap'n Malcolm wants that brat and that wench found!"

"The sun is setting and he didn't give us any blimey torches! The brat and wench will stay until morning." The Spaniard and white haired man from the day before were walking through the foliage about twenty feet away. Chris could only see their heads, and she prayed they wouldn't see her.

"Guess you're right. What'll they do, run away?" The white haired man laughed and he and the Spaniard slowly faded from sight. Chris let out a sigh of relief too soon, for the monkey suddenly came bounding through the bushes behind her and leaped on her back. She clapped her hands to her mouth to keep from screaming and whirled around, throwing the tiny beast from his perch.

"You little git!" Chris gasped, seeing the monkey now shoot a death glare at her. "Hey, it's not my fault you almost made me wet meself! Now come here." Chris reached for the little ape, and he jumped back, teeth bared. "Fine. I guess I'll just have to eat all these delicious bananas myself." Chris picked up the bunch and balanced it on her hip, and then it occurred to her that she had no idea why she was speaking to the monkey like he could understand. Slowly, cautiously, the monkey walked forward, climbed up her pants, and came to sit on her shoulder. Chris supposed she was forgiven.

Chris returned to the hole, chucked the bananas in first, and then slid down the rope. She turned to Elizabeth and Ali and said, "Malcolm's men are on the island and we need to come up with a plan, now."

Jack guided the _Black Pearl_ as the sun sank beneath the waves. The crew had been rather quiet after the encounter with Norrington, and now Jack didn't have anyone trying to persuade him to give up the helm so that he might get some sleep, which he was beginning to long for. Will exited the forecastle, carrying two bowls of steaming burgoo. Burgoo was an oatmeal porridge made with previous meals' leftovers tossed in. Will climbed the stairs to the bridge and handed Jack a bowl. "Thanks, mate." Jack said, tipping the bowl to his mouth so that some of the oats and leftover carrots by the taste of it entered his mouth.

"Of course." Will said, eating his own with a spoon. After a short silence, Will said, "The crew is not too happy about our cooperation with Norrington and his men."

"I thought so." Jack said, turning the wheel with one hand and tipping his bowl with the other. "They'll get over it. I hope. Just pray that we're on the right course and not chasing mermaids."

"Mermaids?" Will asked.

"Pirate expression, ye wouldn't get it." Jack said dismissively.

"I hope that my prayers will be answered in with finality this time. Ali is all I have left of Elizabeth, and…" Will breathed in heavily, "I just don't want to have really lost her for good this time."

He and Jack ate in silence for a few moments. As Jack emptied his bowl, he breathed in deeply and said, "Will, I am sorry about Elizabeth."

"No, you don't have to say that." Will waved his words away.

"I don't say it, I mean it. Elizabeth was... She was one of the fairest lasses I've ever set eyes on, and quite a feisty one at that. After I left… I always wished you two happiness, I never wished either of ye any ill. I mean, things would have never worked out between us anyway…"

Will breathed in deeply through his nose and chuckled wryly, shaking his head. "Thank you Jack."

Jack grinned, his teeth glinting in what light there was on deck. "No worries."


	11. Hiding

**Chapter Eleven  
Hiding**

After quickly devising a plan, the three women and the monkey climbed the vine up through the hole and found some fallen trees nearby. They then proceeded to drag them to the clearing and work on brushing the sand away. Underneath the sand was rock, and Elizabeth and Chris figured the hole was a weak spot in the cave's roof. Chris and Elizabeth then wedged the fallen logs down so that they covered the entire hole, except for a spot big enough to squeeze through, and then the sand was replaced to try and camouflage the wood. As they finished, the women and monkey (who was sitting upon Ali's shoulder) stood back to observe their handiwork.

"It's going to be dark in there." Elizabeth said, looking at the hole.

"We can use the lantern from the captain's cabin." Chris replied. "Let's just hope this is stable enough if someone walks on it. I don't fancy being awoken by a rain of men." Ali laughed at the image.

The vine was now tied to one of the logs so that no one would notice it. Chris had lugged a flat rock to cover the space that would allow them to enter and exit and yet still contribute to the ruse. Now, as the sun disappeared, Elizabeth took Ali into her arms and they slid down the rope into the cave first. The monkey rode with them, letting out a screech along the way. Chris climbed down the rope enough so that she was inside the cover of the cavern before grabbing the flat rock and sliding it over the hole. The inside of the cavern was dark as she continued down the rope, but by the time she reached the water, her eyes adjusted.

Before heading above, the four had salvaged some bedding from the_ Tempest_ and hauled it to their resting place, along with the lantern from the captain's cabin and the flint. As Chris made her way to the treasure island, she saw Ali and Elizabeth arranging the bedding. The treasure wasn't comfortable, but it was a far cry better than sleeping in the water or on a ship that held who knew how many corpses. Chris found the flint and lit the lantern, turning it down low enough so that it only cast light on the island of treasure. The women and monkey then dove into their dinner for the night: bananas.

Ali, after eating a few bananas, dozed off lying in her mother's lap. Elizabeth held her for a short while before picking her up and laying her in the most abundant bedding and covering her with a blanket. Chris watched from where she had propped a golden chest up as a backrest. "It's been forever since I was able to do that, it seems." Elizabeth said, tucking a stray lock of Ali's hair behind her ear. "My heart has ached for her and Will ever since I was captured and Ali and I parted. I never knew I could hurt so much, and now… Now I have her back again, and I will have Will shortly." She sniffed and turned to Chris, a smile of genuine happiness on her lips. "Do you and Jack have children?"

Chris's eyes just about popped out of her head as she drew it back, and then she burst out laughing. "You –You think Jack and I are – are together? Like married?!" She chortled so loud Ali started to stir. Chris clapped her hands to her mouth, her stomach bouncing with laughter. The monkey, full of bananas, looked at her grumpily.

"Ali and I were talking, and she called Jack Uncle and you Auntie, so I assumed –" Elizabeth said, her cheeks flushing with color in the dim light.

"She was sorely mistaken." Chris laughed, and then she hiccupped. "Jack as a father? Ah, could you imagine!" Her smile softened. "Could you imagine?" She asked and shook her head.

"Then what's your story? How'd you get into pirating? You don't speak like most of them. Well, you can, but I've also noticed you have some refinement and propriety about you." Elizabeth said, staring at her dimly lit face.

Chris sighed. She was hesitant to share details of her past with most pirates, for she had a rather privileged background compared to most and it may seem that her tendency towards piracy was a waste of what she could have had and could have been. But Elizabeth had been honest with her and she would be the same. Chris let out a sigh, wishing she had some rum, and began. "I was born to a noble family in England. It was me mum's second husband, and I had an older brother already from her first marriage. I had a grand childhood, and me brother and I were best mates, the very best. But he was in the Navy and called to serve in Jamaica, so we were separated. After that, me dad only wanted what was best for me, so he arranged a marriage between a wealthy lord and myself when I was about fourteen or fifteen. He just wanted to make sure I was going to be taken care of." She let out a sigh at that. "The lord's name was Edward Malcolm."

Elizabeth's eyes widened and she stared at Chris as though asking if she were serious. "The son of John Malcolm?" She asked.

"Aye. But I didn't know his true nature, neither did my father. But that is not the end of the story! I sailed for the Caribbean on a merchant ship named the _Eliza May_. She was taken by a pirate named Torin Malloy, and the captain gave him the idea that I could be ransomed not only for my father's money, but that of my intended. The captain told Torin this in exchange for keeping his ship, and Torin let him have the ship except without the cargo. I was going to be ransomed, and Torin did his best to protect me from any… Lustful ideas the crew might have in store for me.

"Only a true man of honor would do something like that. The pirate ship was attacked by Spaniards and I ended up saving Torin Malloy's life. In gratitude, he offered to put me off at any port. Instead, I decided to turn pirate." Chris' voice softened as the story drew near to its conclusion. She stared into the lantern, a certain light seeming to awake in her eyes as she finished. "Whenever we docked in Tortuga, Captain Jack Sparrow was always kind to me in the taverns, and about two years ago when I was eighteen, Torin Malloy met the love of his life and retired. I was in Tortuga when it happened, and Captain Jack Sparrow he told me he was signing crew onto his long lost ship the _Black Pearl_, so I signed on." She blinked and the light in her eyes was gone. "A year ago I became quartermaster, and then all this happened." Chris picked up a banana and peeled it. "Not a fairy tale, I know, but it is my life."

"It is a life you have made for yourself, Chris." Elizabeth said. "And a life worth living, if I do say so myself." She smiled, and Chris couldn't help but smile back.

Near dawn, the _Black Pearl _and the_ Dauntless_ approached the very island the three women and one monkey were on. Jack had retired for a few hours of sleep before manning the helm again, accompanied by Will, and now he pointed. "There! That must be Malcolm's ship!" Jack said in the dark, pointing to the white sails that shone in the moonlight in one of the island's bays. "I thought they'd follow this course… Thank you Lady Luck!"

"Let's tell Norrington and go find Ali and Chris before the worst happens." Will said, crossing to the starboard side, off which the _Dauntless_ glided.

"Aye, mate." Jack said. "Mr. Cotton!" The aforementioned man's parrot squawked as his master jolted awake by his name being called. Over the past hour, the crew had slumped in the rigging with sleep. "Mr. Cotton, if you would take the con…"

The _Dauntless_ only glided less than a hundred feet apart from the _Pearl_. Jack called across the water in a hushed voice. "Oi! Norrington!"

After a few moments' silence, the reply came back. "Yes?"

"That ship, that's Malcolm's. We've found 'em!" Jack replied, unable to keep from smiling.

"They won't be expecting a night assault." Norrington called back. "I'll have my men launch their boats."

"I don't think so you bloody wanker!" Jack replied.

"Wanker?!"

"Enough!" Will hissed. "I think what Jack is trying to say," Will looked sharply at his pirate friend, "Is that all alarms will be sounded if half a dozen or more jolly boats start tendering towards the shore. We should take one boat and scope out what's going on, and then return when we have more information."

There was silence from Norrington's end. "You could have been a strategist, Turner. Lower a jolly boat, cross over, and some of my men and I will row in with you."

Half an hour later, a jolly boat with an equal amount of armed pirates and armed British sailors was rowing towards the ship anchored in the bay. As they approached the ship, Jack held a finger to his lips and they listened for any sound from above. They were not disappointed.

"Captain says they've been searching the island all over, can't find that slag and the rat." A voice growled from up on deck.

"If he had given them torches…" Another man replied.

Jack then directed them to row away from the ship, and as soon as they could whisper without threat of being heard, Jack said, "'Slag' was definitely in reference to Chris. They should have called Ali 'mouse,' rats are not as cute as mice…"

Norrington rolled his eyes and one of the sailors asked, "What do we do now?"

"We head to the island." Will broke in. "We can find Chris and Ali, the _Pearl_ and the _Dauntless _can take Malcolm's ship by surprise in the dark, blow it sky high! The cannon fire will probably draw Chris and Ali out, and then we can all head home."

"The eunuch has a point!" Jack said, patting Will on the back.

"Only a few should go into the island." Norrington said. "The bigger the group, the more of a chance we have to get caught. Myself, Mr. Murtogg, and Mr. Mullroy will accompany Mr. Sparrow and Mr. Turner onto the island, the rest will aid the _Black Pearl_ with the _Dauntless_."

No one argued. The jolly boat was rowed to the shore and Will, Jack, Norrington, Murtogg, and Mullroy stepped onto the beach. "Attack as soon as the sun rises!" Norrington commanded as the jolly boat was pushed back out to sea. Jack checked his pistol and sword one last time and then turned to the dark tree line. "I hate nature." He commented.

The five men delved into the forest, taking care not to make too much noise, as well as listening for any sound of Malcolm's men. They found that it was easier to head uphill, as the vegetation was not as thick. They continued their hike, hands on hilts and triggers as the ominously silent night began to draw to an end.

Pretty soon, the horizon began to glow orange, and Jack quickened his pace, knowing that they wouldn't have much time before the _Pearl_ and _Dauntless_ attacked to try and find the quartermaster and child before the cannon went off. The group made it to a clearing and noticed the ground was rather lumpy, but appeared to be made of sand. Jack took a step forward and felt how uneven the sand was. "Now this isn't right…" He said, kicking up a spray of sand to reveal old logs underneath. "Look at this!" Norrington, Murtogg, Mullroy, and Will joined him as he kicked more sand from the logs. "Something's under here!" Jack announced. He began to jump up and down several times, as though testing to see if what lay underneath was hollow.

"Jack, I don't think you should –" Will began. The pirate jumped again and there was a cracking sound as all of the logs gave way, making the men fall into large gaping hole.

**SPLASH!**

**SPLASH!**

**SPLASH!**

**SPLASH!**

**WHUMPF!**

Norrington, Murtogg, Will, and Mullroy all fell into the water while Jack somehow landed on the pile of treasure, not more than three feet away from the sleeping form of his quartermaster. Chris awoke with a start, immediately throwing her fists into the air to sock whoever she saw. Upon seeing her captain, she clapped a hand to her breast. "Lord, Sparrow," She said, "You know how to make an entrance."

"Only one of my many gifts, love." Jack groaned, sitting up. "Ahh my back –" He cocked his head to the side at the sight of the _Tempest_. "Um. Ship?" he pointed.

"Long story." Chris replied.

Norrington, Mullroy, Murtogg, and Will had all stood up in the water, looking like drowned rats. "I've brought rescue!" Jack stood and slid down into the water, taking some treasure with him. Ali and Elizabeth stirred as Chris followed suit. Norrington dumped a large amount of water from his hat and straightened his wig as Jack presented Chris. "Norrington, my lad, this is my quartermaster, Christiana." He figured it would really chafe Norrington's rigging to see a female pirate. Jack grinned with anxious expectation.

Norrington froze, as did Chris. "Christiana?" He asked, his hat falling from his hands, forgotten.

"J-Jamie?" Chris replied, her jaw dropping.

The pirate captain's brow furrowed in confusion. "You two know each other?" He asked, his head whipping back and forth between the two.

"Yes…" Chris responded. "Captain, may I present my brother?"


	12. Reunited

**Chapter Twelve  
Reunited**

Jack started to laugh loudly, holding his sides. "Oh, ye got me good Chris, very funny!" He guffawed a few more times. "Yer face was dead serious! Good one, love."

"I am dead serious, Jack." Chris responded, her face in no way mirroring the hilarity Jack was experiencing. Norrington looked similarly un-amused.

"Stop it, Chris! There's only so much I can take!" Jack laughed, tears beginning to form in his eyes. "Now, truly, how do you know each other?" He sighed and removed his arms from his sides, looking at his quartermaster expectantly. "I'll listen now."

"She speaks the truth, Sparrow." Norrington said hesitantly. "She is my little sister."

Jack did a double take. He put both hands in the air, forefingers erect. "Now, exactly how?" Jack asked. "Her last name isn't Norrington! Chris, did ye get married and not tell me?!"

"No! We share the same mother. She married my father after the great Admiral Laurence Norrington passed away in a Naval battle." Chris said glibly. Norrington looked down at the water he stood in. "Do ye understand, Sparrow, or do we have to go over where babies come from again?"

While this exchange was taking place, Will's focus remained on the sleeping form of his daughter. While she had stirred at the noise, she had not awoken. He crossed to the treasure island and climbed up it, sliding a few times because of loose treasure. As he neared the top, he noticed that Ali did not sleep alone, but had cuddled up to a woman. As Will looked at her face, his breath caught in his throat. _No! It can't be… John Malcolm said she was dead!_

"I think I'm going to have a stroke." He heard Jack say. "One of the bloodiest gits I know is big brother to my first mate? Oi..."

"Watch it, Sparrow." Norrington warned.

Will was sure the woman was Elizabeth, but several thoughts clouded his head. Why did John Malcolm say she was dead? How did she get here, how did she find Ali and Chris… Or how did Ali and Chris find her? What had happened to her? As Jack continued musing about Norrington being Chris' brother, Will walked to the sleeping form of his wife and child and kneeled down. The sound of the impact of his knees on the treasure woke her. Her copper eyes opened, rigid with fear at first, but then when they focused on Will's face, the fear immediately left them. "Elizabeth..." Will breathed, making the name sound like the loveliest name in the world. At this, Jack paused, and all turned to observe what was taking place on the mound of treasure. "Is it really you, Elizabeth?" Will whispered, "Or is it your angel that has fallen to Earth?"

Elizabeth's eyes began to tear up as she sat up to come eye to eye with Will. It was her dear William, her sweet blacksmith. "Oh my sweet William, it is me!" She said in barely a whisper. "Will... I've been so afraid I'd never see you again..." Will cupped her face with his hands and drew her lips to his in a kiss that was comparable to a man dying of thirst taking a sip of water. Will had wished to hold her for over a year, or touch her, and now, as his arms wrapped around her, their lips parted, and he buried his face in her hair, he felt this overwhelming sense of relief take over. He had his Elizabeth back. He had her back.

Jack observed the whole scene in silence. "How did you find her?" Jack whispered to Chris.

"She was on the ship." Chris whispered back. "Poor thing. She's been having to eat rats and anything else she could find on there for more than a month."

Norrington's expression was one of longing. He loved Elizabeth and had for years, but seeing her in her husband's arms left him feeling hollow. He would never hold her like that, ever, and she would never return his affection. He cleared his throat slightly and looked at Murtogg and Mullroy. "Sweep the perimeter." He murmured. The sailors looked at each other before wading into the water, scanning the edges of the cave with their rifles, which were now useless from falling into the water and wetting the powder.

Ali rolled over in her treasure bed and yawned sleepily. She rubbed one of her eyes before sitting up, her hair in a tangle, and suddenly noticed everyone who had arrived. "Daddy!" She shouted in glee when she saw him, and sandwiched her way in between her parents, hugging her father. "See mummy? See Auntie Chris? I told you daddy would find us!"

"'Auntie Chris,' hmm?" Jack asked, smiling.

"Yes, 'Uncle Jack.'" Chris replied with similar smile. The monkey had risen with all the talking and now pulled himself from the treasure and leaped cleanly from the island to Chris' shoulder. Jack eyed the monkey and glowered.

"Um... Sir?" Mullroy asked cautiously. "The perimeter is… it's clear."

Norrington nodded and plucked his hat from the water. "Good job. Let's head on up. Dawn is approaching, and Malcolm's going to get one Hell of a surprise."

They crossed to the vine and Chris volunteered to climb up first, and in so doing, show the others how to climb if they didn't know how. "Piece of hardtack!" Chris assured as she emerged above ground and was greeted by Malcolm and a pistol aimed at her head. The monkey screeched and jumped off of her shoulder, bounding into the bushes.

"Hello, my darling." Malcolm said, smiling. "Don't make a sound, dear, or I'll kill you and all your friends one by one." Several other men were with him, grinning stupidly. Chris scowled and pulled herself up out of the hole. The Spaniard grabbed her by the arm and led her to the side, his pistol on her the entire time.

Jack popped up next, Ali on his shoulders. He came along quietly, but Ali had a different idea. "Da—!" Before she could move onto the second syllable, the white haired man silenced her with a slap and roughly grabbed her from Jack.

"What was that, Jack?" Will called up from the cave. Malcolm aimed his pistol at Jack and cocked it.

Jack stared at it defiantly. "Nothing. Ali fell and – MALCOLMISUPHERE!" Malcolm fired his pistol, but Jack had jumped to the side, bent low, and tackled the man beside Malcolm. Chris took this to her advantage and groin kicked the Spaniard before grabbing his pistol and shooting another of Malcolm's men. She then leaped to the white haired man and bludgeoned him with the pistol's butt. He fell into unconsciousness and Chris snatched Ali from his arms.

Norrington, Mullroy, and Murtogg crawled from the hole; their swords bared, and began slashing away at Malcolm's men, making short work of them. Malcolm pulled out another pistol and aimed as Will came from the hole, but Jack drew his sword and slapped it out of his hands. Malcolm smiled shyly at this and took off into the bushes as fast as he could.

Chris grabbed a sword from one of the dying men, set Ali down, and took off running after him. "Chris!" Jack yelled, following her into the bushes. Norrington pulled his sword from one of Malcolm's sailors and followed Jack.

Once Elizabeth was out of the hole, Will commanded Mullroy and Murtogg to watch after her and Ali. "I'll be right back, I promise!" With that, he bounded after the three pirates and commodore.

Malcolm wasn't making good time. He kept stumbling, his boots getting hooked on tree roots, and his loose clothes catching on bushes. Chris, on the other hand, was running as if she was in a wide, open space. She had no shoes to slow her down, and her clothes were lightweight and already ripped in places. Jack was making similar time, as was Will, but Norrington was slowing down. At one point, Will just pushed past Norrington and continued as the commodore struggled with the underbrush. The path Malcolm was taking led right to the tree line overlooking the bay his ship was anchored in. As he approached the beach, he looked behind him, seeing Chris gaining on him. He grunted and pulled out his sword, hacking at the foliage.

Chris jumped over a rock sticking out of the path and ran as fast as she could, leaping onto Malcolm with all the momentum she could muster. He yelled out as they tumbled onto the beach, his sword lost in the bushes, her acquired sword stuck in the sand. They stopped tumbling and Chris climbed on top of him, punching him for all she was worth. "You slimy, worthless, no good git –!"

Malcolm took the punches, for he saw that her sword was stuck awfully close to where he lay. He closed his eyes to the pain, grabbed the handle of the sword, pulled it from the sand, and shoved it up and into Chris' back. She froze, her fists hanging in the air. She gasped and her jaw trembled as Malcolm shoved her off of him, pulling the sword out as he did. She landed on her back and cried out as sand made its way into the wound. She writhed on the ground in pain.

"Bitch." Malcolm spat. "You should have been my wife." Chris looked up at him and her movements lessened and she became still. "Now, this sword," Malcolm held it up, observing the reddened blade. "This is a sword worth keeping." He sheathed it and turned to observe his ship.

The sun had just risen behind it when several loud booms destroyed the silence. The _Pearl_ and the _Dauntless_ had flanked the ship in the dark, and now that they were plainly seen, they fired upon Malcolm's ship, catching the pirates aboard totally off guard. Men were flooding the decks, trying to defend their ship, but there was nothing to do. Already the ship was taking on water, and within minutes she would never float again.

Malcolm watched in awe as his ship sank into the water and the dying screams of his men echoed into the air. "This isn't happening..." He mumbled, "THIS IS NOT HAPPENING!" He heard someone cock a gun behind him; he turned, and came face to face with Jack holding a pilfered pistol mere feet away from his face. Jack smiled.

"It is." Without hesitation, he pulled the trigger and a bullet hit Malcolm right in the forehead. Malcolm reeled back from the shot, and gravity did the rest, bearing his body to the ground. He was dead as soon as he hit the sand. "Waste of gunpowder." Jack then saw Chris lying very still. He dropped the pistol and fell to his knees beside her, taking her into his arms. "No… Chris? Love?" She groaned and wriggled in his grasp. Jack breathed out. "You all right?"

"All right? I've been stabbed in the back, you bloody git." Chris said through clenched teeth, a moan of pain following her sentence. "Notice the blood?"

"Oh, that's what that red sticky stuff is." Jack said with a grin. Normally he might be worried that a person with that manner of injury would die on him. But this was Chris. She was a cantankerous wench if he ever saw one, and he knew she wouldn't just die from a simple stab to the back. "We'll get you back to the _Pearl_, have ye patched up in no time." He placed one arm across her shoulders (she inhaled in pain), and the other under her knees. He slowly, albeit wobbly, stood with his quartermaster in his arms just as Will skidded into the clearing.

Will took the scene in: wounded Chris, dead Malcolm, and Malcolm's ship smoking in the background. "What happened?!"

"Let's just say we don't have to worry about any gits named Malcolm anymore." Jack said, turning to the beach.

"Is Chris alright?" Will asked.

"I am conscious, you know." Chris groaned.

"I have my answer." Will stated. "I'll go and get Elizabeth and Ali and meet you on the beach."

"Sounds like a plan." Jack said. "They should come get us in no time."

As Will retraced his steps, Norrington finally trudged out of the foliage, passing Will on the way. His brow furrowed in concern as he saw Jack carrying his sister, blood dripping from her back. "What happened?" He asked, breathless.

"Just a little major stab wound, nothing to be concerned about." Jack muttered, continuing towards the beach. "Oh, and as you see, ye won't be able to arrest Edward Malcolm. It was better than he deserved anyway." Jack kicked Malcolm's booted feet as he passed the corpse.

Norrington came to walk abreast with Jack. "We have a surgeon, one of the best in the Caribbean, aboard the _Dauntless_." He said to Jack. "She'll be well taken care of by him."

"Sounds good, commodore, but only so long as he takes care of her aboard the _Black Pearl_." Jack replied.

"But you don't even have a medical bay –" Norrington objected.

"So? We use the galley."

"Are you sure that's entirely –?"

"Shut up, please just shut up." Chris whimpered from Jack's arms. The men fell silent.

"I hear wonderful things about His Majesty's medical bays." Jack said after a moment.

"You won't be disappointed." Norrington assured.

A few days passed and in that time, all surviving members of Malcolm's crew were rounded up and placed in the brig of the _Dauntless_. The sailors aboard were ready to sail for Port Royale and prepare the seventy-two pirates for execution by hanging. Also aboard were Will and Elizabeth Turner and their daughter Ali. They were looking forward to returning to Port Royale, once more together as a family, and moving on with their lives. "The past is the past, Will," Elizabeth had said after the first morning after they had shared a bed with one another in a year. "Let's start fresh and look towards the future." It was a very optimistic outlook considering her previous circumstances.

Jack and the _Pearl_ would return to Tortuga with the tale of the death of Edward Malcolm. True, the Malcolms had controlled quite a bit, but if Jack knew anything about pirates (and he was fairly certain he did), things would continue as usual, only with several men in charge instead of a single man and his son. This had also turned into a prosperous voyage for the pirates of the _Black Pearl_ once Jack sent them back to the cave and had them haul up all the treasure to fill the holds of the ship. The exception was a single gold chest, left onboard the _Tempest_ for the souls of those that could still inhabit the pirate ship.

As for Chris, once the jolly boats came, she was taken aboard the _Dauntless_ and treated by the surgeon. The blade had not punctured any organs, and after being sewn up and having the wound bathed in alcohol, the doctor pronounced that Chris would be right as rain as soon as she healed. Upon her return to the _Pearl_, Chris found that the monkey she had discovered aboard the _Tempest_ had somehow found his way on board and into her cabin. "I guess that means we're mates now, you and me." She said to the small ape. He shrieked in agreement.

And so, just a little over a week from when William Turner left Port Royale without a family and with little hope, he said goodbye to his friend Captain Jack Sparrow with his wife holding his left hand and his daughter the right. "Well, Turner," Jack called across the gap between the two ships, Will on the _Dauntless_, Jack on the _Black Pearl_, "It was nice to see you again."

Will thought about saying something about Jack's idea of 'nice,' but he let it slide. "Same with you, Jack." He nodded, "And... Thank you for helping me find Ali. I'd thank Chris for finding Elizabeth, but I take she's not up to being out about yet?"

"No, poor girl. She's lying on her stomach in my cabin. Still bleeding a bit, but it's given her an excuse to guzzle rum." Jack grinned.

"Give her my thanks." Will said as Ali began to tug on his sleeve. He looked down at her. "Yes darling?"

Ali turned to look at Jack and pulled a piece of paper from behind her back. "Commodore Norrington gave me some paper and a quill! I drew this for you and Auntie Chris!" She handed the paper to her father, who looked at it, and chuckled. He rolled it up and attached it to a hanging line before swinging it across the gap between the ships.

Jack caught it on the second swing, pulled the paper from its spot, and unrolled it. As he looked upon it, he laughed. It was a rough drawing of Jack, Chris, and the monkey on a ship that was firing cannon at a many tentacled sea monster."Thanks, love." He called. "I'll hang it in my cabin!" Ali positively beamed at him.

"If you're ever in Port Royale, Jack…" Elizabeth called, "Come see us. You'll always have friends there."

"Elizabeth, not with Will watching, good lord!" Jack exclaimed, rolling his eyes heavenward. She smiled at him, and he returned the expression.

Norrington was at the helm of the _Dauntless_ and announced, "Mr. and Mrs. Turner, we are ready to make way." Will nodded and picked up Ali with right arm, his left hand still holding onto his wife.

"Goodbye, Captain Jack Sparrow." He bade.

"Bye Uncle Jack!" Ali called.

"Goodbye, Jack." Elizabeth said.

Jack grinned. "Goodbye Will and Liz. Bye Ali!" He waved at the little girl as she, her mother, and her father headed for the stairway leading into the forecastle. Norrington said something to Gillette, who then took the wheel, and Norrington then descended the stairs to where the Turners had previously been standing.

"Sparrow," He began.

"Norrington." Jack replied. They stared at each other for a moment, Jack half-wondering if they were going to get into a firefight.

Norrington struggled with his words for a moment. "Perhaps... My sister should come back to Port Royale, just until she heals. She's been through –"

Jack cut him off by raising his hand. "Norrington, I would gladly allow you to take her. I'd be happy to know that she was being cared for in the best ways possible." Norrington's face brightened. "But she's very determined to get back to Tortuga and make sure that word has not gotten around that she's not a cold-blooded murderer. My hands are tied, mate."

Norrington looked down. "I guess that is the path she has chosen... Just as she chose not to marry Lord Malcolm and instead chose to become a pirate."

"It looks like that would have been the end result either way, mate." Jack said. "Fate's not something one can avoid." Norrington nodded, sadly. "Bye, Norrington."

Norrington looked at the _Black Pearl_ one last time before he returned to the bridge, issuing orders rapidly. Within minutes, the _Dauntless_' sails were full and its bow was pointing in the direction of Port Royale. After the _Dauntless_ had shrunk from sight, Jack barked a few orders, and the _Black Pearl_ headed in the opposite direction. Jack had taken his place at the helm when a hand was lightly laid on his shoulder. He turned to see Chris standing beside him, postured slightly funny from her wound.

"You should be resting." He said, turning to scan the horizon.

"Sod off. I'm not that fragile." Chris said as the monkey dropped from the top, hit the deck, and then ran up Jack's pant leg and onto his shoulder.

"I don't really like monkeys..." He said, looking sideways at the little creature.

"Good. I'll keep him just to annoy you, then." Chris teased.

Jack grinned. "He needs a name. And **God help you** if you name him Jack."

Chris laughed and stroked the monkey's back, wincing as her wound moved from the action. "I thought I'd name him Loki. He's the Norse God of Chaos. It seems fitting since he's destroyed your cabin."

Jack groaned. "Go back and lay down before I catch up to the _Dauntless_ and force you aboard with your slimy git of a brother."

Chris laughed. "Alright, alright." She went to the top of the stairs leading down to the deck and paused as the newly christened Loki leaped from Jack's shoulder and scampered up her front to take his place upon hers.

"Chris, one thing." Jack called.

Chris turned to her captain. "Aye?"

Jack smiled softly. "I'm grateful that you're going to be alright."

Chris mirrored his smile. "And I'm the same way towards you." They both smiled before Chris continued to the captain's cabin and the _Black Pearl_ sailed off into the horizon.

oOo

When I think about my life  
I wonder if I will survive  
To live to see 25  
Or will I just fall?  
Like all my friends  
They just keep dying  
People round me  
Always crying  
In this place that I like to  
Call my home

But not everybody knows  
That everybody goes  
To a better place  
And not everybody knows  
That everybody could be living their last days  
But the hard times will come  
and we'll keep movin' on  
We're moving on  
Keep movin' on

Life!  
Hope!  
Truth!  
Trust!  
Faith!  
Pride!  
Love!  
Lust!

On without the things we've lost  
The things we gained  
We'll take with us

And all I've got  
Are these two hands  
To make myself  
A better man, I  
Wonder if I'll ever see the end of this  
With all this rain  
It just keeps falling  
On my head  
And now I'm calling  
Out to someone else  
To help me make it through

But not everybody knows  
That everybody goes  
To a better place  
And not everybody knows  
That everybody could be living their last days  
But the hard times will come  
and we'll keep movin' on  
We're moving on  
Keep movin' on

Life!  
Hope!  
Truth!  
Trust!  
Faith!  
Pride!  
Love!  
Lust!  
Pain!  
Hate!  
Lies!  
Guilt!  
Laugh!  
Cry!  
Live!  
Die!

Some friends become enemies  
Some friends become your family  
Make the best with what your given  
This ain't dying!  
This is living!

Said we're movin' on  
And we got nothing to prove to anyone  
Cuz we'll get through  
We're movin' on and on and on and on and on and on and on and on and on and on and on and on and on and on and on and on and

Keep movin' on!

Life!  
Hope!  
Truth!  
Trust!  
Faith!  
Pride!  
Love!  
Lust!  
Pain!  
Hate!  
Lies!  
Guilt!  
Laugh!  
Cry!  
Live!  
Die!

Some friends become enemies  
Some friends become your family  
Make the best with what your given  
This ain't dying  
This is living!!!


End file.
